Rutgers Center for Migration and the Global City
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| Rutgers Center for Migration and the Global City | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rutgers Center for Migration and the Global City |
| Established | 2018 |
| Institution | Rutgers University–Newark |
| Location | Newark, New Jersey |
| Director | Ruth Gomberg Munoz |
Rutgers Center for Migration and the Global City is a research and policy hub at Rutgers University–Newark that studies migration in urban contexts, linking scholarship on cities, borders, and transnational flows. The Center brings together faculty, students, policymakers, and community organizations to examine migration through interdisciplinary lenses rooted in urban studies, sociology, political science, and law. It engages with local and global partners to inform civic practice in Newark, New York, Los Angeles, and other metropolitan areas.
Overview
The center convenes scholars and practitioners from Rutgers University–Newark, Princeton University, Columbia University, New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University to investigate migration patterns across cities like Newark, New Jersey, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. It collaborates with municipal entities including the City of Newark, Newark Mayor's Office, New Jersey Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness, and national organizations such as American Civil Liberties Union, International Rescue Committee, Human Rights Watch, and Migration Policy Institute. The Center hosts public events featuring speakers from institutions like Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, CUNY Graduate Center, Rutgers School of Law–Newark, and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
History and Founding
Founded in 2018 at Rutgers University–Newark, the Center emerged amid scholarly initiatives at centers such as Center for Migration Studies, Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society, and Migration Research Centre. Founders drew inspiration from projects at University of Oxford, London School of Economics, Sciences Po, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, and Cato Institute debates on migration policy. Launch events included panels with leaders from National Immigration Law Center, American Immigration Council, City University of New York, and representatives from municipal governments including San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia.
Mission and Objectives
The Center's mission aligns with goals pursued by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organization for Migration, World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank to generate evidence informing urban migration policy. Objectives include producing research comparable to work from European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Refugee Studies Centre, Transnational Migration Centre, and Center on Migration, Citizenship and Development. It aims to influence legal frameworks debated in venues such as United States Supreme Court, U.S. Congress, New Jersey Legislature, and advisory bodies like President's Task Force on New Americans.
Research Programs and Initiatives
Research strands mirror themes investigated by Migration Policy Institute, Pew Research Center, Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, and Urban Institute. Programs include comparative projects on sanctuary policies studied in Sanctuary city cases in Los Angeles County, Cook County (Illinois), and King County (Washington), and labor migration studies linked to analyses by International Labour Organization and Pew Hispanic Center. Initiatives examine displacement and housing as addressed by National Low Income Housing Coalition, Habitat for Humanity, American Planning Association, and casework in Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria recovery contexts. Other projects collaborate with research centers at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Duke University, and Cornell University on topics including remittances, diasporas, and transnational networks referenced in work by Diaspora Studies scholars.
Education and Training
The Center offers curricular and training opportunities akin to programs at Columbia Law School, NYU School of Law, Harvard Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center in immigration law clinics and policy fellowships. It sponsors graduate fellowships modeled on initiatives from Institute for Advanced Study, Russell Sage Foundation, and Social Science Research Council. Student engagement includes internships with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, and non-profits like Catholic Charities USA and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Workshops draw on curricula from International Rescue Committee and training modules used by UNICEF and Save the Children.
Partnerships and Collaborations
The Center maintains partnerships with municipal, state, and international organizations including City of Newark, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, United Nations, European Union delegations, and NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders, International Organization for Migration, and Amnesty International. Academic collaborations extend to Rutgers School of Social Work, Rutgers–Camden, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Princeton Migration Policy Program, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance, and cross-institution consortia including MacArthur Foundation-funded networks and foundations like Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Rockefeller Foundation.
Impact and Community Engagement
The Center's outputs inform municipal policy decisions in Newark, contribute to litigation support used in cases before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court, and feed advocacy by ACLU and National Immigration Law Center. Community engagement includes collaborations with grassroots organizations such as La Casa de Don Pedro, Ironbound Community Corporation, FaithFull Food Pantry, and national networks like National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Public programming parallels initiatives by Migration Policy Institute and Brookings to increase civic understanding through symposia, policy briefs, and collaborative reports with partners including The New York Times, ProPublica, NPR, and PBS NewsHour.