Last edited February 2012

Resources on Minnesota Issues
Immigrants in Minnesota

Books and Reports  •  Articles  •  Internet Resources  •  Additional Library Resources

This guide is compiled by staff at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library on a topic of interest to Minnesota legislators. It is designed to provide an introduction to the topic, directing the user to a variety of sources, and is not intended to be exhaustive.

The story of immigration to the United States began before the founding of the nation and continues today. As this story has evolved, we as a nation have been continuously challenged to evaluate immigration policies. Over the past several decades there have been ongoing efforts to reform the immigration system to ensure that it meets the needs of the nation, and of the newest legal immigrants.

Currently, the focus of national attention is on illegal immigration. Policy makers at both the federal and state levels of government are examining the many issues surrounding this complex topic. The intent of this guide is to provide a list of recent resources on the topic of immigration. While the focus is decidedly on Minnesota, several comprehensive national studies are included. There are also several resources listed for information related to Arizona's two controversial pieces of legislation enacted in April, 2010, as well as other states' recent immigration-related bills and resolutions.

SIGNIFICANT BOOKS AND REPORTS:

Minnesota:

Allen, Ryan. The Unraveling of the American Dream: Foreclosures in the Immigrant Community of Minneapolis. Minnesota: University of Minnesota, 2009. (HG2040.5.U62 M562 2009)

Amato, Joseph A. To Call it Home: the New Immigrants of Southwestern Minnesota. Marshall, Minnesota: Crossings Press, 1996. (HV4011.M6 A43 1996)

Chun, Randall and Danyell Punelli LeMire. Eligibility of Noncitizens for Health Care and Social Services Programs. St. Paul: Research Dept., Minnesota House of Representatives, 2006. (KF4800.Z9 C58 2006)

Economic Impact of Immigrants. St. Paul: Office of the Legislative Auditor, Program Evaluation Division, 2006. (JV6471.E26 2006)

Educating Minnesota's Immigrant Students: Phase 1: Challenges and Opportunities. St. Paul, MN: Citizens League, 2007. (LC3732.M6 I56 2007)

Educating Minnesota's Immigrant Students: Phase 2: Solutions. St. Paul, MN: Citizens League, 2009. (LC3732.M6 I56 2009)

Erdman, Jared et. al.. Let Us Meet You Where You Are: Securing the Educational Accomplishments of Migrant Students (SEAMS). Minneapolis: HACER (Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research): CURA (Center for Urban and Regional Affairs), December 2006. (LC5152.M6 L48 2006)

Fennelly, Katherine. The Economic Impact of Immigrants in Minnesota. Minnesota: Minnesota Business Immigration Reform Coalition, 2010. (JV6471.F46 2010)

The Government Response to Domestic Violence Against Refugee and Immigrant Women in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area: A Human Rights Report. Minneapolis: Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, 2004. (HV6626.22.T9 B48 2004)

Immigrant Health, A Call to Action: Recommendations from the Minnesota Immigrant Health Task Force. Minneapolis: Minnesota Dept. of Health, Minnesota Immigrant Health Task Force, 2005. (RA418.5.T73 I46 2005)

Immigration in Minnesota: Challenges and Opportunities. St. Paul: League of Women Voters of Minnesota Education Fund, 2002. (F615.A1 I46 2002)

The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Minnesota: Costs and Population Trends. St. Paul: Office of Strategic Planning and Results Management, Minnesota Department of Administration, 2005. (JV7012.I47 2005) (This report generated quite a lot of discussion including a response from Governor Pawlenty and many newspaper articles - see two in our Significant Articles section).

Johnson, Ryan et al. Improving Access to Minnesota Health Care Programs for Hispanic/Latino Communities. St. Paul: Minnesota Dept. of Human Services; Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, August 2008. (RA638.I47 2008)

Limited English Proficiency: An Assessment of Needs and Services in West Central Minnesota. Fergus Falls, MN: Victor Lundeen Company, 2005. (HV4011.L56 2005)

A New Age of Immigrants: Making Immigration Work for Minnesota. Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Foundation, August, 2010. (JV7012.N49 2010)

Noncitizens and Minnesota Law: A Guide for Legislators. St. Paul: Research Dept., Minnesota House of Representatives, 2004. (KF4800.Z9 N66 2004)

Public Health Care Eligibility Determination for Noncitizens: Evaluation Report. St. Paul: Office of the Legislative Auditor, Program Evaluation Division, 2006. (KF4800.P83 2006)

National:

Immigration: A Megatrends Backgrounder. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments, 2004. (JV6450.B45 2004)

Kochhar, Rakesh. Growth in the Foreign-Born Workforce and Employment of the Native Born. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, 2006. (HD8081.A5 K63 2006)

More Harm than Good: Responding to States' Misguided Efforts to Regulate Immigration. National Employment Law Project, 2007.

Rincon, Alejandra. Undocumented Immigrants and Higher Education: Si Se Puede!. LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2008. (LC3727.R56 2008).

Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics. (REF JV6461.S8)

SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES:

Cameron, Linda A. "Common Threads: The Minnesota Immigrant Experience." Minnesota History, Fall 2010, p.96-106.

Fandl, Kevin J. "Immigration Posses: U.S. Immigration Law and Local Enforcement Practices." Journal of Legislation, Volume 34, Number 1, 2008, p. 16-37.

Frank, T.A. "Pinkertons at DHS: Are Immigration Busts Undermining U.S. Labor Law?" The Washington Monthly, May/June/July 2008, p. 16-18.

Guntzel, Jeff Severns. "Interactive Map: Where are Minnesota's Immigrants Coming From?" MinnPost.com, April 18, 2011.

Hoyt, Joshua. "We are America: Immigrants and Social Capital in the United States Today." National Civic Review, Spring 2009, p. 14-24 (from a NCR Special Issue: Diversity, Social Capital, and Immigrant Integration).

"Illegal Immigration: Do Illegal Workers Help or Hurt the Economy?". CQ Researcher, May 6, 2005, p. 393-420.

"Illegal Workers: State Efforts to Enforce Immigration Law". Supreme Court Debates, Vol. 14, No. 1, January, 2011.

"Is Immigration Good for America?" (Twelve articles within this issue explore the topic of immigration). The CATO Journal, Winter, 2012.

Johnson, Fawn. "States Step into the Void: Faced with Inaction at the Federal Level, State and Localities are Taking Matters Into their Own Hands on Immigration Policy." National Journal, October 16, 2010, p. 26-33.

Morse, Ann. "Arizona's Immigration Enforcement Laws: An Overview of SB1070 and HB2162." National Conference of State Legislatures, July 7, 2010.

"Our Changing Face: Immigration and Migration Shape a More Diverse Minnesota" (Four articles within this issue explore the topic). Minnesota Economic Trends, September, 2012.

Salisbury, Bill. "Pawlenty Immigration Report Ignites Firestorm: Study on Illegal Residents Angers Immigrants; DFL Accuses Governor of Creating Wedge Issue". St. Paul Pioneer Press, December 16, 2005, p. A1+.

Sweeney, Patrick. "Illegal Residents Cost State $175M: Study Comes as Pawlenty Prepares to Propose Changes". St. Paul Pioneer Press, December 9, 2005, p. A1+.

SIGNIFICANT INTERNET RESOURCES:

• Becoming Minnesotan: Stories of Recent Immigrants and Refugees -- This Minnesota Historical Society Website presents excerpts from oral history interviews with recent MN immigrants, along with supporting information about each narrator, the communities, and immigration in general, in a format designed to be of greatest use to teachers and students in grades 4-12.
• Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration -- U.S. Department of State
• Energy of a Nation: for Minnesotans -- The Advocates for Human Rights compiles information about immigration and immigrant rights in Minnesota
• Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research -- At the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
• International Immigration and Foreign-born Population -- State Demographic Center, Minnesota Department of Administration, great resource for statistics
• Immigration -- The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
• Immigration History Research Center -- At the University of Minnesota
• Immigration in Minnesota -- The Minneapolis Foundation provides an Immigration FAQ done March, 2008, which contains a Key Dates in U.S. Immigration History timeline
• Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network -- MIFN is a grass roots, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.
• Office of Immigration Statistics -- A division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Pew Research Hispanic Center -- A selection of publications and data.
• Refugee Health -- Minnesota Department of Health
• Twin Cities Immigrant Orientation Resources -- Knowledge Management Inc.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services -- A division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Immigration Facts & Figures -- Grantmakers Concerned With Immigrants and Refugees

ADDITIONAL LIBRARY RESOURCES:

For historical information, check the following codes in the Newspaper Clipping File and the Vertical File:
I8 (Immigration), R50 (Refugees)

For additional reports at the Legislative Reference Library, use this Library catalog search:
Immigration.