Global Cities and Immigrants ― A Comparative Study of Chicago and Madrid

Global Cities and Immigrants provides a detailed set of comparative case studies of the immigration policies of two global cities undergoing dramatic demographic changes. At the heart of this research are several theoretical questions. One is about the increased importance of municipal and local governments in a globalized world, particularly regarding immigrants. As the world global­izes and national governments attempt to tighten their grip, the failure of national policies to address the needs of new global situations encourages local governments to develop policies that resolve these new conditions. Although immigration is a federal policy in the United States and Spain, city and state governments have increasingly played a role in shaping both the enforcement of national laws and integration experiences of immigrants. This creates a local politics and indeed a legality of immigration that is strongly shaped by local views of economic, political, and security interests, as well as differing perceptions of immigrants’ rights and place in the polity.

Francisco Velasco Caballero is Professor of Administrative Law at the Universidad Autonoma of Madrid. He is former director of the Institute of Local Government at the university and was a lawyer at the Constitutional Court of Spain.
Maria de los Angeles Torres is Executive Director of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research and Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies. She has published extensively on Cuban exiles, Latino political incorporation, and immigration.