New Research
What are the perspectives of residents in sanctuary cities on the impact of these policies on community safety and cohesion?
Relevance to the Field and Research Approach
Understanding residents' perspectives is important for public administrators in terms of building community trust and being engaged with the public. Insights from residents can inform more responsive policy. There is also a need to evaluate the impact of sanctuary policies on community safety and cohesion. Doing so from the residents' viewpoint allows for a grassroots-level assessment of policy effectiveness, which can in turn help administrators and policymakers refine existing policies so as to better meet community needs.
In terms of social cohesion, it is well known that sanctuary city policies are designed to protect undocumented immigrants and integrate them into the community. Therefore, it is important to know how these policies affect social cohesion and to hear it straight from the horses mouth, so to speaki.e., the publicthrough interviews and focus groups. This approach can reveal the social impact and any potential areas of tension or solidarity within the community that have resulted.
Interviews and focus groups could focus on policy awareness, social cohesion, and residents' perceptions of safety under sanctuary policies. Safety itself is a...
Questions would focus on exploring perceived safety, actual experiences that support the perception, sense of community, and how sanctuary policies influence these aspects.Focus groups could be used to get dialogue going regarding policies, perspectives, experiences, sentiment, and meaning.
I could then use thematic analysis to identify common themes, patterns, and variations in residents' perspectives. I would code and categorize data to help reveal the implications of sanctuary policies on the…
