Georgia Immigration Research Network

The Georgia Immigration Research Network (GIRN) was founded in 2015 by faculty from the WellStar College of Health and Human Services and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kennesaw State University, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, and the School of City and Regional Planning at the Georgia Institute of Technology. 

The overall purpose of GIRN is to bring together those working on and interested in immigration policy as it relates to Georgia and the U.S. South, immigrant and refugee integration in Georgia and the U.S. South, and issues of concern to immigrant and refugee populations in Georgia, as well as the human, social, and/or service needs for immigrant populations. In particular, GIRN serves to provide opportunities and spaces for researchers, practitioners, and community members to:

georgia immigration research network group photo

  • Discuss available data sources, data gaps, and methodologies necessary to assess immigrant and refugee population needs, the needs of the organizations that serve them, and the needs of the broader community.
  • Prioritize issues impacting immigrant communities in the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and throughout Georgia and the U.S. South, including current and emerging issues.
  • Discuss ways in which to further refine community-based and community-engaged research trajectories that produce work with applicability to communities and policy in the broader region. 
  • Explore funding opportunities and grants targeting immigrants, immigrant service provision, and immigrant integration.
  • Identify immigrant issues and barriers, as well as potential intervention strategies to overcome barriers, in the Atlanta MSA and Georgia.
  • Network with other immigrant-serving professionals and researchers.

Views expressed on this website and in our work are those of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of our places of employment and various funders.

Immigration in Georgia