16th annual Victor T. Schaub Memorial Lecture on Local Politics

“Sanctuary Cities: The Politics of Refuge”

Monday, March 2, 5:30-7 p.m., Siemens Hall Room 108 

A number of U.S. jurisdictions, including Arcata and Humboldt County, have declared themselves “sanctuaries” for undocumented immigrants, but what exactly does this mean?

In this lecture, Loren Collingwood explores the history and religious roots of sanctuary policies. The author examines how the media frames these policies, the predictors of public support for or opposition to them, and their effects on crime and Latino political incorporation. Particular attention is paid to the recent Humboldt County Measure K sanctuary vote.

Restrictive immigration policies, he shows, make 911 calls from immigrant communities less likely. In cities with sanctuary policies, Latinos are more likely to vote and to participate in the police force, suggesting that sanctuary legislation has positive incorporating effects.

The authors also confront claims that these policies increase crime rates and concludes with a discussion of the implications of their research for the U.S. immigration debate.

Loren Collingwood is Associate Professor of Political Science at University of California, Riverside. His research has appeared in leading social science journals, including British Journal of Political Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, Political Behavior, Urban Affairs Review, and other peer reviewed journals. Collingwood is the author of "Sanctuary Cities: The Politics of Refuge", and "Campaigning in a Racially Diversifying America: How and when Cross-Racial Electoral Mobilization Works" both with Oxford University Press. Collingwood has a Ph.D. in political science with a concentration in statistics from the University of Washington, and previously worked as a pollster for Greenberg Quinlan Rosner based in Washington, DC. Collingwood received his BA from California State University, Chico, and grew up in Arcata.

The lecture series' namesake, Victor Schaub, was an Arcata civil attorney and professional mediator who was elected to the City Council in 1988 and served two terms, until 1996. He served as mayor from 1990-95. Victor died in 2004 at the age of 60, and the Victor Schaub Memorial Lecture series was established in his honor.

Persons who wish to request disability related accommodations should contact the Politics Department at 707-826-4494 or politics@humboldt.edu as soon as possible.