I study how immigrants are incorporated into the polity and the impact of migration on politics and political membership. My research engages debates at the intersection of political science, sociology and migration studies, focused on North America & Western Europe. I use a wide range of methods.

I study the political and civic incorporation of immigrants into Western liberal democracies and the consequences of migrants’ presence for politics and receiving countries’ sense of national belonging. How do migrants gain voice in the political systems where they live?

One stream of research on this question investigates the acquisition of formal citizenship, as well as the experiential and conceptual contours of citizenship as membership. Other research examines the opportunities and limits of community-based organizations for advancing political voice and providing immigrant services.

I also study the content and transformation of national identities, including multiculturalism; immigrants’ engagement in electoral and protest politics; and how non-immigrants’ attitudes about migration and immigrants shift depending on whether we talk about human rights, citizenship, family unity, or appeals to national values.

I joined UBC in 2024 as the inaugural President’s Excellence Chair in Global Migration, with a joint appointment in Political Science and Sociology. Prior to coming to UBC, I held the 1951 Chair in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley where I founded the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative.

At UBC, I’m also the co-director of the Centre for Migration Studies. I was trained in the United States (PhD at Harvard) and Canada (MA & BA at McGill), and I have held visiting appointments at the Trinity College (Ireland) and the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

Selected recent and notable publications – see CV for full list and links

Voss, K., Lauterwasser, S., & Bloemraad, I. 2024. “Inactive and quiescent? Immigrant Collective Action in Comparative Perspective, 1960-1995.” Socius 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231241249932.

Bloemraad, I., Harell, A., & Fraser, N. 2024. “Categorical Inequalities and Canadian Attitudes Toward Positive and Negative Rights.” Canadian Journal of Political Science (Online First: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423924000076.)

Roubenoff, E., Slootjes, J., Bloemraad, I. 2023. “Spatial and Sociodemographic Vulnerability: Quantifying Accessibility to Health Care and Legal Services for Immigrants in California, Arizona, and Nevada.” Socius 9. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231157683.

Song, S., Bloemraad, I. 2022. “Immigrant Legalization: A dilemma between justice and the rule of law.” Migration Studies 10(3): 484-509.

Bloemraad, I., Chaudhary, A.R., & Gleeson, S. 2022. “Immigrant Organizations.” Annual Review of Sociology 48: 319-341.

Ren, C., Bloemraad, I. 2022. “New Methods and the Study of Vulnerable Groups: Using Machine Learning to Identify Immigrant-Oriented Nonprofit Organizations.” Socius 8. Online: https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231221076992.

Bloemraad, I. 2022. “Claiming membership: boundaries, positionality, US citizenship, and what it means to be American.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 45(6): 1011-1033.

Bloemraad, I., Menjívar, C. 2022. “Precarious Times, Professional Tensions: The Ethics of Migration Research and the Drive for Scientific Accountability.” International Migration Review 56(1): 4-32.

Bloemraad, I., Voss, K. 2020. “Movement or Moment? Lessons from the pro-immigrant movement in the United States and contemporary challenges.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 46(4): 683-704.

Voss, K., Silva, F., Bloemraad, I. 2020. “The Limits of Rights: Claims-making on Behalf of Immigrants.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 46(4): 791-819.

Bloemraad, I. 2018. “Theorizing Citizenship as Claims-Making.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44(1): 4-26.

Bloemraad, I., Sheares, A. 2017. “Understanding Membership in a World of Global Migration: (How) Does Citizenship Matter?” International Migration Review 51(4): 823-867.

Bloemraad, I., Silva, F., Voss, K.  2016. Rights, Economics or Family? Frame Resonance, Political Ideology and the Immigrant Rights Movement. Social Forces 94(4): 1647-1674.

Fox, C., Bloemraad, I.  2015.  White by Law, Not in Practice: Explaining the Gulf in Citizenship Acquisition between Mexican and European Immigrants, 1930.  Social Forces 94(1): 181-207.

Bloemraad, I., Wright, M. 2014. “Utter Failure” or Unity out of Diversity?  Debating and Evaluating Policies of Multiculturalism.  International Migration Review 48(S1): S292-S334.

de Graauw, E., Gleeson, S., Bloemraad, I.  2013.  Funding Immigrant Organizations: Suburban Free-riding and Local Civic Presence. American Journal of Sociology 119(1): 75-130.

Bloemraad, I.  2013.  Accessing the Corridors of Power: Puzzles and Pathways to Understanding Minority Representation. West European Politics 36(3): 652-670.

Wright, M., Bloemraad, I.  2012.  Is There a Trade-off Between Multiculturalism and Socio-Political Integration? Policy Regimes and Immigrant Incorporation in Comparative Perspective.  Perspectives on Politics 10(1): 77-95.

Kesler, C., Bloemraad, I.  2010.  Does Immigration Erode Social Capital?  The Conditional Effects of Immigration-Generated Diversity on Trust, Membership, and Participation across 19 Countries, 1981-2000.  Canadian Journal of Political Science43(2): 319-347.

Bloemraad, I.  2006.  Becoming a Citizen in the United States and Canada:  Structured Mobilization and Immigrant Political Incorporation.  Social Forces 85(2): 667-695.

Short-listed for the 2022 Martin Bulmer Prize, for Ethnic and Racial Studies’ article of the year

Named the International Migration Review’s “Featured Scholar of 2018”, Center for Migration Studies and SAGE Publishing

Honorable Mention, Best Conference Paper for “The Limits of Rights” (with K. Voss & F. Silva), Migration and Citizenship section, American Political Science Association, 2018

“Best Article” award for “Is There a Trade-off…” (with Matthew Wright), Migration and Citizenship section, American Political Science Association, 2013

American Cultures Innovation in Teaching Prize, University of California, Berkeley, 2013

Social Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Letters and Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2012

Honorable mention for the Thomas & Znaniecki Best Book Award, International Migration section, American Sociological Asscociation, for Becoming a Citizen, 2008

Sarlo Distinguished Graduate Student Mentoring Award, 2008

I am happy to supervise graduate students in Political Science or Sociology who work on migration research and adjacent topics in any of the main subfields of the disciplines (e.g., comparative, Canadian, theory, US, IR, political sociology, social movements, etc.).