论文标题
确定改善移民法律服务提供商网络的机会
Identifying Opportunities to Improve the Network of Immigration Legal Services Providers
论文作者
论文摘要
移民法律服务提供者(ISP)是寻求移民福利的低收入移民支持的主要来源。然而,关于美国ISP的流行和地理分布的定量证据很少。为了填补这一空白,我们构建了一个全国性的全国数据库,该数据库由2138个地理编码的ISP办公室,为低收入移民提供低成本或无成本的法律服务。我们使用空间优化方法来分析ISP的地理网络,并测量ISPS与低收入移民人口的接近。由于ISP和移民都高度集中在主要城市地区,因此大多数低收入移民都住在ISP附近。但是,我们还发现在服务不足的地区,主要位于南部中型城市的低收入移民。这反映了非政府组织服务提供中的一般偏差,也反映了移民在这些南部地区的最新到来。最后,我们的优化分析表明,将新的ISP放置在服务不足的地区,以最大程度地增加生活在ISP附近的低收入移民数量。总体而言,我们的结果为移民,资助者和政策制定者提供了有关ISP网络的现状以及改善它的机会的重要信息。
Immigration legal services providers (ISPs) are a principal source of support for low-income immigrants seeking immigration benefits. Yet there is scant quantitative evidence on the prevalence and geographic distribution of ISPs in the United States. To fill this gap, we construct a comprehensive, nationwide database of 2,138 geocoded ISP offices that offer low- or no-cost legal services to low-income immigrants. We use spatial optimization methods to analyze the geographic network of ISPs and measure ISPs' proximity to the low-income immigrant population. Because both ISPs and immigrants are highly concentrated in major urban areas, most low-income immigrants live close to an ISP. However, we also find a sizable fraction of low-income immigrants in underserved areas, which are primarily in midsize cities in the South. This reflects both a general skew in non-governmental organization service provision and the more recent arrival of immigrants in these largely Southern destinations. Finally, our optimization analysis suggests significant gains from placing new ISPs in underserved areas to maximize the number of low-income immigrants who live near an ISP. Overall, our results provide vital information to immigrants, funders, and policymakers about the current state of the ISP network and opportunities to improve it.