The Economic Assimilation of African Immigrants in the United States

This article examines the puzzle that the earnings of African immigrants do not match their high qualifications in terms of educational attainment. We apply cohort analysis to compare the economic assimilation patterns of black African immigrants with that of black non‐African immigrants. We find results that are consistent with the idea that the lower earnings of African immigrants are due to greater difficulty with skill transferability. Africans face substantially lower earnings at entry than black natives and black non‐African immigrants, although they close a substantial part of the initial earnings gap over time. Moreover, the earnings gap at entry has narrowed for recent cohorts; and Africans who migrate during childhood and those with no college education face no disadvantage. We also find similar patterns of assimilation in labour supply and participation in welfare programmes, which indicate that Africans face greater challenges at entry but assimilate at a faster rate.     

Contexts of English Language Use among Immigrants to the United States1

This analysis of New Immigrant Survey data indicates that the longer immigrants are in the U.S., the more likely they are to use English with friends, at work, at home, and with a spouse. The average immigrant arriving as a young adult has a predicted probability of using English with friends upon arrival of 0.44, a figure that doubles after 15 years in the U.S. The same average immigrant has a 0.40 probability of using English at home upon arrival, which rises to 0.55 after 15 years. The results suggest substantial language shift with the first generation.     

School Integration of Migrant Children from the United States in a Border Context

Since 2008, about half a million children have arrived in Mexico from the United States, most of whom are US-born. However, due to limited statistical data, there have been few quantitative studies on their school integration. Using data from the 2017 School Integration Survey, conducted in 86 lower secondary schools in the Tijuana metropolitan area, we analyse the relationship between students’ liking of school and their binational school trajectories in this border city with high return migration. The results, based on a multivariate statistical analysis, show that students who studied in that country exhibit a lower liking of school, which correlates with a higher number of years of schooling in the U.S. and less time spent in Mexico since last arrival. Various mediating mechanisms are identified, such as limited Spanish proficiency, teacher indifference and lack of cultural identification with Mexico. The implications for education policy are also discussed.     

Asset Ownership of New Asian Immigrants in the United States

This study examined the asset ownership of Asian immigrants using a nationally representative sample of newly legalized immigrants (New Immigrant Survey). Findings revealed that ownership of a business or farm, financial assets, and home ownership were associated with socioeconomic, demographic, and acculturation variables. Family income, education, English fluency, and length of stay were significant in all types of asset ownership. Variances in asset ownership by ethnic groups exist. Asian Indians and Koreans had higher levels of business asset ownership. Korean, and Filipino immigrants were also more likely to be homeowners. Asian Indian and Chinese immigrants were more likely to own financial assets. Vietnamese lagged in business or farm and financial asset ownership. Findings provided insights into the investment decisions of new Asian immigrants for financial educators, researchers, and policymakers.     

Exploring the Racial Identities of Black Immigrants in the United States

This study draws upon immigrant incorporation theories to investigate whether native origin trumps skin color in shaping the racial identities of black migrants. Using survey data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, six groups of black migrants are compared across two racial identity dimensions: racial group identification and racial group consciousness. The results demonstrate that while black migrants, with the exception of Puerto Ricans, develop a shared racial group identity with native-born blacks over time, the meaning they attach to being black in America varies by native origin.

Israeli immigrants in the United States: The question of community

Despite their possession of many social advantages such as high levels of education, familiarity with Western, urban culture, Caucasian appearance, relative economic security and ties to an established, co-ethnic community, much literature on Israeli immigrants in the U.S. depicts them as plagued by social and psychological alienation to the extent that they are incapable of creating viable ethnic communities. This paper uses field work and photography collected within the Israeli immigrant population of Los Angeles to critically examine the assertion that Israeli immigrants in the U.S. are much less organized than would be predicted by recent theories on immigrant adaptation and community formation. Based on this research, we argue that while Israelis are ambivalent about their presence in the U.S., they have created a variety of communal activities involving entrepreneurship, religion, culture, politics and leisure.     

Trends in the Gender Ratio of Immigrants to the United States1

Females have held a majority in the imigrant population arriving in the United States since about 1930, despite the traditional picture of the lone male pioneer or the immigrant family group. The 1980s and early 1990s saw a reversal of this pattern. This article provides information on the gender ratio of immigrants in recent years and analyzes how elements of U. S. imigration law favor one gender or trhe other. The number of marriges between U. S. citizens or legal residents and non‐citizens in highlighted as the dynamic factor determining the trend and proportion of male and female immigrants.     

Mainstream and Ethnic Volunteering by Korean Immigrants in the United States

Asian immigrants accounted for one-eighth of the total U.S. population in 2009. With Asian immigrants having higher levels of education and income than average Americans, their potential contribution to American philanthropy will be even more significant. This study examines the volunteering patterns of Korean immigrants, one of the fastest growing segments of the Asian immigrant population in the United States. This study explains Korean immigrants’ volunteering within ethnic and mainstream (American) organizations using the concepts of bonding and bridging social capital. The bivariate probit regression results suggest that ethnic volunteering and mainstream volunteering are generally the substitutes for each other. The findings nevertheless suggest that providing Asian immigrants’ with English education and continuing education opportunities may boost their volunteering to mainstream nonprofit organizations without discouraging their volunteering for ethnic organizations.     

Earning Gaps for Chinese Immigrants in Canada and the United States

This study compares the US and Canada on the gap in earnings between Chinese immigrants and native‐born whites. Canada and the US are arguably more alike than most possible country pairings, yet they differ in significant ways in their approaches to immigration and integration. The primary difference between Canada and the US regarding immigration policy is that Canada selects a larger proportion of economic immigrants – that is, those admitted based on their ability to contribute to the economy – than the US's focus on family reunification. Canadian immigration and multicultural integration policy does not appear to improve Chinese immigrant earnings in the way that might be predicted from Canada's skilled‐based immigrant selection policy and welcoming social context. In spite of a more laissez‐faire approach to immigrant integration and a less skill‐selective immigration policy, we show that Chinese immigrants are earning relatively more in the US than in Canada.     

Occupational Mobility Among Legal Immigrants to the United States1

Using data from the New Immigrant Survey Pilot, which follows immigrants for one year after receiving green cards, occupation in the U.S. is compared with that of the last job abroad. Fifty percent of immigrants experience downgrading. Among the highest‐skilled immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean, more than three‐fourths end up in lower‐skilled jobs than what they had abroad. Human capital acquired in Latin America and the Caribbean is valued less than that from Europe, Australia, and Canada in the U.S. labor market, while immigrants with some U.S. education can increase the returns to that acquired previously abroad.     

Household Context,Generational Status,and English Proficiency Among the Children of African Immigrants in the United States1

This study examines how household and parental-level determinants affect English proficiency among the children of African immigrants in the United States. Within immigrant families, the study finds that children’s level of proficiency has a stronger positive association with the proficiency of their mothers than with that of their fathers. Children’s level of English proficiency significantly increases as the number of other English-proficient children within their household increases. These impacts are stronger on the proficiency levels of first compared to second-generation children. Levels of proficiency are, however, lowest among children in families from Portuguese-speaking countries followed by their counterparts in families from countries where indigenous languages and Arabic are dominant. Although proficiency levels generally improve with increasing generational status, these improvements are smallest for children in families from Portuguese-speaking countries. Except for children in families from English-speaking countries, the largest improvements to proficiency with increasing generational status were observed among children in families from indigenous language backgrounds.     

On the Sidelines of Society: Chinese Illegal Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

Estimates on the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. vary widely. Claims range anywhere from 4 million to 17 million. Each year more than a million legal immigrants enter the country in addition to around 3 millions illegal ones. Because of a number of difficulties there is no solid evidence these numbers are reliable. China is believed to be the largest source of illegal immigrant trafficking. Aliens from here will often spend short periods of time living and working in countries of transit such as Mexico and Thailand. The People Republic of China (PRC) reports that at any one time, hundreds to thousands of Chinese immigrants are in transit. This process is made easier by “snakeheads,” the criminal organizations that organize and service the flow of aliens while providing jobs, housing, and false documentation. The present study was conducted among illegal Chinese aliens in New York City to assess social and psychological adjustments. Participants were administered in-depth interviews pertaining to housing, friendships, job opportunities and the role of snakeheads. It was found that the road out of China was anything but smooth, even for those who had money. Those who were successful usually had knowledge of someone from the local community who had already succeeded in leaving. In addition, smuggling networks had to be available and there needed to be a connection already in the host society. Their desperation to leave China often made the easy victims. There were reports of handing over fees in excess of 30,000 to consultants who promised to handle the paper work. After arriving to the USA, there were struggles in establishing business success stemming from government regulations, labor laws and higher taxes. Those who failed remained optimistic. Some even continued to run businesses in China and after flying back and forth between the countries became known as “astronauts.” The time apart from family often led to affairs and broken homes.     

Undocumented Migration to the United States and the Wages of Mexican Immigrants

Prior work has documented the remarkable decline in the real wages of Mexican immigrant workers in the U.S. over the past several decades. Although some of this trend might be attributable to the changing characteristics of the migrants themselves, we argue that a more important change was the circumstances under within Mexican immigrants competed for jobs in the U.S. After 1986 a growing share of Mexican immigrants was undocumented, discrimination against them was mandated by federal law, and enforcement efforts rose in intensity. We combined data from the Mexican Migration Project (MMP) with independent estimates of the percentage undocumented among Mexicans living in the U.S. to estimate a series of regression models to test this hypothesis. Controlling for individual characteristics helps to explain the decline in the wages of immigrants, but does not eliminate the trend, which is only explained fully when the percentage undocumented is added to the model. A key date is 1986, confirmed by a Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition analysis, when undocumented hiring was criminalized and undocumented migration revived after IRCA's legalization programs ended. As the percentage undocumented rose to new heights in the face of employer sanctions, immigrant wages fell below what we would have observed under the former policy regime. Using newly available data from Warren and Warren (2013), we examined how variation in the percentage undocumented by state and year from 1990 through 2009 affected immigrant wages and confirmed a strong negative effect, but the addition of an interaction term to the model indicated that the negative effect was confined largely to undocumented migrants, whose wage penalty rose from 8 to 18 percent as the percentage undocumented rose from its observed minimum to maximum.     

The Impact of the Economic Downturn,Immigrants, and Political Representation on White Supremacist Group Organization in the United States

Abstract

On the surface, groups advocating white supremacy appear similar. However, upon closer examination these groups vary in their strategies and goals as well as how they are affected by the economic downturn, immigrants, and political representation. This study utilizes resource mobilization theory to examine the relationship among political ideology, partisanship, public policy, social factors, and white supremacist group organization in the United States between 2000 and 2007. With the fifty states as the unit of analysis, I conduct a pooled time-series analysis to answer the following research questions: Is there a relationship among a state's political ideology, partisanship, public policy, social factors, and individual white supremacist group organization? Does this relationship vary by white supremacist group type? White supremacist group data disaggregated by type reveal that group dynamics are in play as groups navigate state political and social factors to determine ideal areas to organize. This study reveals the importance in examining white supremacist groups disaggregated by type, particularly the political and social factors that motivate their level of organization.     

Black Immigrants in the United States and the "Cultural Narratives" of Ethnicity

This article argues that social science representations of post-1965 Black immigrants in the United States employ the concept of "ethnicity" in ways that reinforce the racialist myth of Black (American) cultural inferiority. Specifically, the discursive use of Black immigrant "ethnic" and "cultural distinctiveness," while admittedly reflecting an important recognition of the heterogeneity of the United States Black populations, is in fact predicated upon a repackaged "culture of poverty" discourse that serves to reaffirm the overarching racial order. In a discussion of the theoretical and historical development of the concept, I show how the current discourse of "ethnic distinctiveness" perpetuates a form of racism under a theory that denies the relevance of race while it continuously recodes the biological notions of race as "culture." Thus, Black immigrant distinctiveness, when presented through the prism of the cultural narratives of ethnicity, allows for the perpetuation of a "cultural racism" that adversely affects all Blacks in this country. I therefore call for a rejection of ethnicity theory as it is currently conceptualized and suggest the need to ground theories of Black distinctiveness within analyses of power relations and ongoing practices of racial subjugation.     

From Illegal to Legal: Estimating Previous Illegal Experience among New Legal Immigrants to the United States1

This paper develops a framework for estimating previous illegal experience among annual cohorts of new legal immigrants to the United States – using public‐use administrative microdata alone, survey data alone, and the two jointly – and provides estimates for the FY 1996 cohort of new immigrants, based on both administrative and survey data. Our procedures enable assessment of type of illegal experience, including entry without inspection, visa overstay, and unauthorized employment. We compare our estimates of previous illegal experience to estimates that would be obtained using administrative data alone; examine the extent of previous illegal experience by country of birth, immigrant class of admission, religion, and geographic residence in the United States; and estimate multivariate models of the probability of having previous illegal experience. To further assess origins and destinations, we carry out two kinds of contrasts, comparing formerly illegal new legal immigrants both to fellow immigrants who do not have previous illegal experience and also to the broader unauthorized population, the latter using estimates developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2002 ), Passel (2002 ), and Costanzo et al. (2002 ).     

Economic Status of Older Asians in the United States

Data from the 5-percent Census 2000 Public Use Microdata were utilized to examine the economic status of six Asian-only groups in the United States aged 65 and older. Japanese Americans’ economic status emulated that of older Whites; whereas, older Korean and Vietnamese economic status more closely resembled that of older Blacks. Regression results indicated that education, household size, and duration of immigration were significantly and positively related to household income for most of the Asian-only groups, supporting the theory that human capital, structural barriers, and acculturation all play a role in determination of household income for older Asian Americans.

The Marital Status of Recent Mexican Immigrants in the United States in 1980 and 19901

Using Public Use Microdata Samples, we analyze the temporal marriage patterns of recent Mexican immigrants in the United States, and relate these patterns to socioeconomic and political events, such as U.S. immigration reform, increasing returns to skill, and rising incentives for unattached Mexicans to migrate during the 1980s. Our findings indicate that recent Mexican immigrants (particularly men) were less likely to be married within five years of migrating in 1990 than their counterparts had been in 1980. An empirical extension further suggests that the relative endogamy odds among Mexican immigrants who migrated to the United States by 1980 increased during the next decade. Such demographic changes may affect policies involving issues such as education, welfare and retirement.