Introduction

The success and well-being of immigrant youth has become a global concern for many stakeholders at multiple levels, including individuals, families, schools, neighborhoods, local and national economies and governments, and international organizations. Millions of young people live and grow up in countries where they or their parents were not born, often as a result of families moving to find a better life or fleeing disastrous circumstances. Because of this migration and resettlement, ethno-cultural diversity is rapidly becoming the rule rather than the exception in many nation states and communities of the world, particularly in wealthier host nations. As noted by Hernandez in Chapter 1 on the demography of immigration, immigrants represent the fastest growing segment of the population in many affluent countries. Consequently, the economic and social futures of multiple nations depend on the success of immigrant children and youth. Moreover, immigrant families are transforming the neighborhoods and societies in which they settle. Recent migration has brought immense changes, challenges, and opportunities to host and sending nations, as well as the individuals and families who migrate. This volume is based on the Jacobs Foundation Conference, “Capitalizing on Migration: The Potential of Immigrant Youth,” held at Schloss Marbach in Germany on April 22–24, 2009. The Jacobs Foundation, strongly committed to the support of science, practice, and policy pertaining to productive youth development, sponsored this conference in response to growing international interest in the migration and well-being of immigrant youth. Leading international scholars in demography, human development, economics, social psychology, education, immigrant mental health, and sociology gathered to address urgent questions about the current status and future potential of immigrant youth. The chapters of this volume reflect the diverse perspectives of the contributors and provide an overview of current leading research and its implications for practice and policy. The chapters point to promising directions for future research on the development and well-being of immigrant youth and how to facilitate their potential. Given the growing number of immigrant youth in many host nations, understanding the processes leading to the success of immigrant youth has tremendous potential to benefit national economies and societies, as well as individual young people and their families, both in the near term and for the foreseeable future.