CSDD Research Fellows Present: "Beyond Enforcement: How Presidential Administration Shapes Employment-Based Legal Immigration in the United States" - with Boyoon Lee
Date
Monday February 10, 20251:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Location
The Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity Research Fellows Present:
Boyoon Lee - Assistant Professor, Department of Political Studies | ֱ
"Beyond Enforcement: How presidential administration shapes employment-based legal immigration in the United States
Monday, February 10, 2025
1:30-3:00 PM
Robert Sutherland Hall | Room 448
The Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity (CSDD) is happy to announce that Dr. Boyoon Lee, Assistant Professor of Political Studies at Queen’s University, will give a talk titled “Beyond enforcement: How presidential administration shapes employment-based legal immigration in the United States” on Monday 10 February 2025 from 1:30–3:00 in Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 448, as part of the CSDD’s ‘Research Fellows Present’ series.
Abstract
"Beyond enforcement: How presidential administration shapes employment-based legal immigration in the United States" (with Jongwoo Jeong at Georgia State University)
While recent studies have provided valuable insights into the enforcement of illegal immigration, less is known about legal immigration and institutional responses to it. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the role of presidential leadership in shaping legal immigration acceptance. Specifically, we assess whether and how presidential advocacy for restrictive immigration policies influences legal immigration decisions in the United States. Using a comprehensive dataset from the Department of Labor's Program Electronic Review Management (PERM), which records "permanent labor certification" applications, we analyze the impact of the Trump presidency on employment-based legal immigration. Our findings offer a nuanced understanding of American immigration policy and institutional behavior, highlighting how political contexts influence the adjudication of legal immigration cases.
Biography
Dr. Boyoon Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Studies at ֱ. Her research agenda addresses the politics of immigration, with a particular focus on public opinion and the political economy of migration. She studies the determinants of migration-related preferences and attitudattitudes as well as how socio-economic inequality is intertwined with migration decisions and behaviors, with a regional focus on Asia and the Americas. Her work has been published in outlets such as Journal of Politics and
Environmental Research Letters.