International migration is one of the most traumatic, spirited, and transcendental experiences of all. It is also a complex social process whose immediate causes are linked to an array of factors, such as individual aspirations, household strategies, state policy-making, labor market dynamics, political turmoil, and even natural disasters.

International migration, and particularly immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean has become a major research topic addressed by research institutes located in New York and other areas. The growth of the Latino population as a direct result of immigration has also stimulated new dynamics in public policy. International migration is also a major instrument of foreign policy and as such it has gained its own momentum in foreign-policy-making.

In this first offering of this course at SUNY-Albany, we will focus on five modules that will cover basic issues and case studies related to the analysis of immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean.

1. Determinants of immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean in the postwar period.
2. Analysis of the factors that provide continuity to the process.
3. Immigration law: Major pieces affecting immigration from Latin America and the Caribbean.
4. Economic incorporation, cultural adaptation, and political participation of immigrants in the United States.
5. Transnationalism.

We will cover competing theories and methodologies on issues such as labor market incorporation and the paths toward cultural adaptation. We will also analyze the purposes and contents of important pieces of legislation that have specially targeted Latin American and Caribbean groups or affected them, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), the Illegal-Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IRIRA), the Cuban Adjustment Act, and the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). We will also review how international migration as a foreign policy instrument has impacted on U.S.-Latin American relations at the bilateral and multilateral levels. Graduate students majoring in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the social sciences, international relations, and law may particularly benefit from this course, however students from other disciplines who are interested in this topic are welcome.