Mateo Vásquez-Cortés, a political scientist at GPS, received a grant from the University of California to study the integration of Venezuelan refugees in Colombia
When children of immigrants become citizens, do their parents fare better? Political scientist Mateo Vásquez-Cortés is studying the integration outcomes of Venezuelan refugees in Colombia through a new research project
Mateo Vásquez-Cortés, an assistant professor of political science at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), has received a prestigious honor from the University of California’s Office of the President. The award, called the Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award, will provide $50,000 to fund research that Vásquez-Cortés intends to carry out in Colombia.
In his fieldwork, he plans to test the hypothesis that granting citizenship to children of immigrants can accelerate the process of socially and economically integrating the entire household.
In particular, Vásquez-Cortés is looking into the outcomes of migrants who arrived in Colombia as refugees from Venezuela. This is because Colombia implemented a unique policy whereby Venezuelan children born after Jan. 1, 2015, became eligible for Colombian citizenship. The parents were not afforded the same opportunity, but Vásquez-Cortés wants to know whether just having younger members of the family as citizens was enough to make a difference.
“I am excited to get started on the project, particularly because it is supported by a UC-wide grant and aligns closely with my research on migration and integration in the Global South,” he said.
Through his research, he’ll be exemplifying GPS’s approach of providing real, actionable policy solutions. The Colombia example could provide a blueprint for other countries in the Americas, serving as a template of migration policy that supports refugees and migrants as well as the countries into which they immigrate.
