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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

The New Asylum Seekers: Subnational Dynamics of Migration Governance in the United States

Edited by

Angela S. García
University of Chicago, Crown Family School of Social Work and Sociology

Rebecca Hamlin
University of Massachusetts–Amherst, Legal Studies and Political Science

Abigail Fisher Williamson
Trinity College, Public Policy and Political Science

Asylum-seeking is a long-standing legal pathway enshrined in international law through which migrants flee home-country persecution, arrive in another country, and pursue refugee status there. Yet unlike resettled refugees, who receive the refugee designation overseas and arrive in the US with legal status and dedicated services, asylum seekers come directly to the US without express invitation. This contributes to their conflation with unauthorized entrants and "illegality" in the political and public sphere. Contemporary asylum seekers are often framed by politicians as motivated by experiences—such as economic deprivation—that fall outside the scope of the refugee definition and thus make them unlikely to advance successful legal claims. Moreover, because asylum seekers arrive without invitation, they may resemble long-term unauthorized residents in their challenges accessing work and public services. At the same time, their formal pursuit of refugee status through legal channels differentiates them from both resettled refugees (who enter through pre-authorized programs) and undocumented migrants (who lack a pending legal claim). In highlighting these contrasts, this issue of RSF underscores how in-land asylum seekers occupy a distinctive position at the intersection of legality and illegality. As they increasingly concentrate in US cities, subnational governments and institutions face urgent practical and political challenges that have become central to the national immigration debate.

In the US context, scholars, policymakers, and the public have not fully grappled with the distinctions between asylum seekers and other categories of legally vulnerable immigrants. Given their pending legal petition, for example, asylum seekers and their identities are fully visible to government. They thus have a different orientation to the state than many long-term undocumented immigrants, who manage decisions to engage or avoid government institutions from an alternative set of circumstances. Despite these and other differences, we know little about the implications of such distinctions for migration governance or for the broader "ecosystems" of institutions that shape migrants' lives—including not only state and local governments but also schools, police, employers, landlords, NGOs, and even anti-immigrant organizations. Given that related work is more prevalent in the European context, this issue of RSF will focus on the US case to highlight both what is distinctive and what lessons might travel across other nation-states.

Accordingly, this issue examines the ways in which contemporary asylum seekers to the US resemble and differ from other immigrants, past and present; it considers how rising asylum-seeking shapes subnational responses among diverse state and non-state actors; it compares the experiences of asylum-seeking newcomers with long-term unauthorized immigrants; it analyzes the relationships of these groups with the US-born population; and, in turn, it assesses their influence on broader US immigration policies.

Click here for a complete description of the topics to be covered in this issue.

Anticipated Timeline

Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single- or double-spaced) of their study along with up to three pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, etc.) no later than 5 PM EST on January 7, 2026, to:

https://rsf.fluxx.io

In other words, your submission may be up to five pages in length. This includes everything, abstract, references, etc. Note that if you wish to submit an abstract and do not yet have an account with us, it can take up to 48 hours to get credentials, so please start your application at least two days before the deadline. All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published in part or in full. Only abstracts submitted to https://rsf.fluxx.io will be considered. Each paper will receive a $1,000 honorarium when the issue is published. All questions regarding this issue should be directed to Suzanne Nichols, Director of Publications, at journal@rsage.org.   Do not email the editors of the issue.

A conference will take place at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City on September 25, 2026. The selected contributors will gather for a one-day workshop to present draft papers (due a month prior to the conference on 8/28/26) and receive feedback from the other contributors and editors. Travel costs, food, and lodging for one author per paper will be covered by the foundation. Papers will be circulated before the conference. After the conference, the authors will submit their revised drafts by 1/12/27. The papers will then be sent out to three additional scholars for formal peer review. Having received feedback from reviewers and the RSF board, authors will revise their papers by 4/5/27. The full and final issue will be published in the spring of 2028. Papers will be published open access on the RSF journal website as well as in several digital repositories, including JSTOR and UPCC/Muse.

Click here for a complete description of the topics to be covered in this issue.