Comparative literature on multiculturalism and immigrant integration relies on national-level indices that rank a country’s commitment to protecting immigrant minorities’ collective rights and fostering socio-political inclusion. The question hovers whether within-country integration policy variation is greater, equal or lesser than cross-country variation.
In this paper, I draw from 20 months of field research in the Greater Toronto Area (Canada) and in Silicon Valley (United States). Integration policy-wise, these metropolitan areas are significantly different from each other as well as from the Canadian and US country average.
Based on preliminary results of an ethno-survey conducted in these two areas with immigrants from India and El Salvador, this paper maps the different integration policy structures in Toronto vis-à-vis Silicon Valley. It also looks at the impact of different city policy contexts on various aspects of immigrant integration, such as organizational density, types of immigrant organizations and immigrants’ networks of acquaintances.
