This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Much research on migration examines conditions in countries of origin, immigrant experiences in 'host' societies, or both. In contrast, there has been little consideration of zones of transit and transition between country of origin and final destination, that is, the remote sites migrants travel through on their journeys to new locations. This project will examine these journeys between states.
Dr. Alison Mountz in the Department of Geography at Syracuse University is undertaking this study, which will enhance knowledge on this neglected issue by investigating islands as particular sites where struggles over migration, asylum, and sovereignty transpire and where federal mandates of national security and refugee protection intersect. An emerging body of literature suggests that smuggling industries exploit economically impoverished migrants and asylum-seekers in places of ambiguous jurisdiction. States also operate in remote locales to manage undocumented migration through border enforcement and detention. The research asks why particular islands become sites of migration management, how migrants arrive on islands, and what legal issues ensue. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to collect data on American, Australian, and European islands that are sites of migration entry and processing. The project aims to analyze island geographies and demographics and to develop a Global Classroom based on these data. The resulting database will be used to map offshore enforcement practices and to produce an island index that aims to rank islands' propensity as sites of migration entry, processing, and struggle.
Research findings will advance knowledge on global migration in order to contribute to contemporary debates about immigration, border enforcement, and asylum policies. The project will offer new ways of understanding what happens to international migrants on their journeys between states, including the role of interception at sea, detention on islands, and human rights issues that emerge along the way. Graduate students will work with the Principal Investigator to conduct comparative research in six field sites in five countries. The research will contribute to innovative curricular design in the fields of political geography and migration studies, including a Global Classroom where students in South Africa, England, and the United States will work via videoconference to map global migrations alongside peers located across borders.
