2025 Borders and Migration Workshop
The 2025 Borders and Migration Workshop will be co-hosted by the University of Houston and Texas A&M University. All sessions will take place October 3 and 4, 2025 in the Bates Law Building, University of Houston.
This workshop will bring together scholars working on the political, social, and economic dimensions of borders and migration.
Organized by Tobias Heinrich (University of Houston, Department of Political Science), Benjamin Helms (Texas A&M University, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Department of International Affairs), and Pablo M. Pinto (University of Houston, Hobby School of Public Affairs).
Program
Friday, Oct.3
8:15 AM |
Breakfast and Welcome |
|
09:00 AM |
Paper 1: Social Spending, Immigrant Inclusion, and Immigration Openness: An Embedded Liberal Migration Trilemma? (David Bearce and Andrew Hart) |
|
09:30 AM |
Paper 2: Depopulation paradox? Exploring the impact of depopulation risk on immigration policy preferences (Junghyun Lim) |
|
10:00 AM |
Paper 3: Commerce and Campaigns: The Local Roots of Immigration and Trade Messaging in U.S. Presidential Elections (Thomas Flaherty, Duy Trinh, Changlip Kim, |
|
10:30 AM |
Break | |
10:50 AM |
Paper 4: The Price of Dignity: Measuring Migrants’ Metaperceptions using Behavioral
Games (Yang-Yang Zhou, Margaret E. Peters, Daniel Rojas, and Cybele Kappos) |
|
11:20 AM |
Paper 5: Who Deserves to Belong? Public Opinion and U.S. Naturalization Decisions (Juliana K. Mucci, Hannah Alarian and Andrew S. Rosenberg) |
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11:50 AM |
Paper 6: Forms of Exclusion (Sam Chapa) |
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12:20 PM |
Lunch | |
1:50 PM |
Paper 7: Domestic Opposition as Messengers for International Organizations (Yoshiharu Kobayashi and Tobias Heinrich) |
|
2:20 PM |
Paper 8: Trust Or Fortify? Border Walls in International Relations (Michael Kenwick, Gino Pauselli and Beth Simmons) |
|
3:10 PM |
Paper 9: Consistent or Compartmentalized? The Political |
|
3:40 PM |
Immigration Update |
|
4:10 PM |
Daily Wrap-Up | |
4:30 PM - 6:30 PM |
Optional: Happy Hour Drinks at Axelrad (1517 Alabama Street) |
Saturday, October 4
8:15 AM |
Breakfast and Announcements |
09:00 AM |
Paper 10: From Barriers to Abuse: Border Hardening and Torture (Beth Simmons and Gino Pauselli) |
09:30 AM |
Paper 11: How Historical Border Institutions Shape Contemporary Mobility Patterns (David Carter and Dihan Shi) |
10:00 AM |
Paper 12: Racial Bias in Policy, Not Public Opinion: The Paradox of Border Walls and Non-White Refugee Arrivals (Andrew S. Rosenberg and Nazli Avdan) |
10:30 AM |
Break |
10:50 AM |
Paper 13: International Migrant Networks and Global Conflict (Ben Helms, David Leblang and Philip Potter) |
11:20 AM |
Paper 14: Global Migration Governance: A Rationalist Approach (Jim Hollifield and Hiroki Takeuchi) |
11:50 AM |
Paper 15: Influence from Abroad: Activism and Repression of Dissidents Across Borders
(Carlo Horz and Jessica S. Sun) |
12:20PM |
Lunch |
1:20 PM |
Paper 16: For the Land Itself? Disentangling Motives in Territorial Conflicts (Dan Altman and Kathleen E. Powers) |
1:50 PM |
Paper 17: The Making of National Interest (Soyoung Lee) |
2:20 PM |
Paper 18: Education and Territorial Claims in South America (Hein Goemans, Hope Marsh, and Blair Tinker) |
3:00 PM |
Closing Remarks |
Location
The meeting will take place at Bates Building in UH main campus. Please proceed to Room 201, located on the second floor of the building.
Parking
Please use Elgin Street Garage.