The purpose of the Section on International Migration is to foster the development of the sociological study of international migration through organized meetings, conferences, newsletters, publications, awards, and other means deemed appropriate by the Council of the Section.

Officers of the Section: Only voting members of the American Sociological Association and of the Section shall be eligible to hold office. The officers of the Section shall be a Chair, Chair-elect, and a Secretary-Treasurer. The Chair shall serve for one year. The Chair-elect shall serve for one year, after which he/she will automatically become Chair. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for a period of three years. No member of the Section shall serve as Chair or Chair-elect while holding the office of Chair in another section of the American Sociological Association. Officers shall not succeed themselves.

There shall be a Council consisting of six members, each serving for three years, with two Council seats being vacated each year. In the first election of the Council, two Council seats shall be identified as one-year seats, two as two-year seats, and two as three-year seats. In addition, there shall be a graduate student representative to the Council; this student position shall be filled each year by election. The Chair, Chair-elect, and Secretary-Treasurer shall also serve as members of the Council, with the Chair of the Section serving as Chair of the Council. A Newsletter Editor shall be appointed by the Council for a term of three years. The Editor will serve as an ex-officio member of the Council.

Terms of office shall begin and end at the Annual Business Meeting of the Section during the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association. If an elected office is vacated before the term is completed, it shall be filled through appointment by the Chair for the unexpired term, but this appointment must be confirmed by the Council at its next meeting.

Powers of the Officers: The Council is vested in principle with the power to carry out all necessary operations for the Section, acting as the representative of the membership of the Section. The Council may decide by majority vote to put to a vote by the membership any question it chooses. Any action of the Council may be brought to a vote of the Section by a petition signed by ten percent of the members of the Section or by 25 members of the Section, whichever is less.

Elections and Voting: The elections of the Section shall be carried out in cooperation with the American Sociological Association and coordinated to their schedule. The exception for this shall be the first election, which shall be carried out concomitantly with the formation of the Section.

Committees: There shall be a Committee on Nominations, appointed each year by the Council when it convenes at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association. The membership of the Committee on Nominations shall consist of at least five members, one of whom shall be designated by the Council as Chair of the committee. The Chair of the Committee on Nominations each year shall be a member to that committee (but not its Chair) in the following year. At least two candidates shall be presented for each office by the Committee on Nominations.

There shall be a Program Committee, appointed by the Council, charged with developing the Section's program at the annual meetings in cooperation with the Program Committee of the American Sociological Association. The membership of the Program Committee shall consist of at least three members. The Chair-elect of the Section shall serve as Chair of this committee.

There shall be a Committee, appointed by the Council, to select the recipient of the Distinguished Student Scholarship Award. The award is given annually to the outstanding student research paper or dissertation in the sociology of immigration completed during the preceding two years.

There shall be a Committee, appointed by the Council, to select the recipient of the Distinguished Career Award. The award is given annually in recognition of the recipient's lifetime contributions to research in the sociology of immigration.

Other Committees shall be appointed by the Chair of the Section with the approval of the Council, or by the Council, on an ad hoc basis.

Membership: The membership of the Section is open to any member of the American Sociological Association, without regard to the classification of his/her membership, who has expressed an interest in the study of international migration. Members who do not pay their Section dues shall be suspended and dropped from the membership list, and shall be ineligible to vote in Section elections.

Dues: Dues shall be set by the Council to cover the operation of the Section in accord with the requirements of the American Sociological Association.