Citizenship & Civic Engagement
Recent Activity
The winners of the Migration Policy Institute's 2012 E Pluribus Unum Prizes, honoring exceptional immigrant integration initiatives in the United States, discussed their work during a plenary luncheon on September 24, 2012 at the National Immigrant Integration Conference held in Baltimore, MD.
This report examines the role of naturalization as indicator and facilitator of successful integration in the United States. It examines why immigrants decide to naturalize and why many of those eligible to naturalize are unable or choose not to do so.
In recent years, many governments have tightened their citizenship requirements as a way to promote better immigrant integration. In examining citizenship policy in the United States, Canada, and countries in the European Union, this article considers the balance policymakers face between requirements that may be too difficult for immigrants to meet and ones that will better help them find success in their new countries of residence.
This report explores how French national identity and sense of belonging are both defined and expressed. The discussion revolves around the issues of “hyphenated identities” and whether the split allegiances of dual citizens weaken social cohesion in France.
This Transatlantic Council Statement examines both the challenge and opportunity for governments, in an era of skepticism about migration, to create a new definition of “we” based on a more inclusive idea of national identity and belonging, and to convince the broader society that investing in integration is an investment in shared futures.
This report challenges the recent rhetoric and addresses the advancement of policy areas for countries, examining factors that impede or facilitate successful the implementation of multiculturalism. When these facilitating conditions are present, multiculturalism can be seen as a low-risk option, andhas worked well in such cases.
For more than a decade, states have experimented with civic integration policies that require immigrants to learn the official language of their host country and acknowledge its basic norms and values—or risk losing social benefits and even residence permits. This report explores ways states can put forth smart policies that benefit natives and immigrants in host countries.