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.     

United states steerage legislation: The protection of the emigrants en route to America

The immigrant experience of travelling to America was fraught with discomfort and often with danger. Legislation regarding minimum standards of comfort and safety by the late nineteenth century related mainly to sailing ships: by this time, most immigrants travelled under steam power. This article charts the concerns and responses of the US government over the conditions of the immigrants en route. Legal decisions, Congress investigations and reports from other interested bodies all played a part in producing legislation to further regulate and improve the passage to America in the period 1880–1924.     

Foreign retirement income among new older immigrants in the United States

Older adults make up an increasing share of new legal immigrants to the United States. These immigrants are often financially dependent on family since they are often barred from receiving several US support programmes and are less likely to receive US retirement benefits than natives. However, little information exists as to whether they receive retirement income from abroad. Using the New Immigrant Survey (N=2,150), we find that only 8.1 per cent of older recent immigrants report receiving foreign retirement income. In logistic modelling, older immigrants from Asia and Latin America were less likely to receive retirement income from abroad than those from Europe (Odds ratio = 0.50, p<0.05; Odds ratio = 0.22, p<0.001, respectively). Results suggest that newly admitted older immigrants from Asia and Latin America face an additional economic disadvantage compared with older Europeans that cannot be attributed to their demographic and migration characteristics.     

Brazilian immigration to North America

"This article is a comparative study of Brazilian immigration to Canada and the United States. Analysis of recently collected data in Toronto, Ontario and in a medium-size U.S. community facilitated the examination of the adaptation and adjustment experiences of a new group of immigrants to North America. This article begins with a discussion of the origins of this recent immigrant group and its rapid expansion. Next, it focuses on the labor force activities of Brazilian immigrants and compares and contrasts their experiences in the United States and Canada. A final section examines social adaptation in North America by exploring linguistic and cultural dimensions. This article closes with a section on the future aspirations of these immigrants."     

IMMIGRATION AND RURAL AMERICA

Immigration is changing the face of rural America. Stable, year-round employment in the food-processing industry is the most significant factor attracting immigrants into the rural Midwest. Much has been published documenting social and economic changes in rural communities following surges in immigration in rural meat-processing communities. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine immigrants’ perceptions of work and residence in rural America. To this end, personal interviews were conducted with 43 immigrants residing in three Nebraska meatpacking communities. Participants described routes of immigration and motivations for international movement, work in the packing plants, and rural residence. Work for future investigators and the role of policy and social service professionals are presented.     

Multiplying Diversity: Family Unification and the Regional Origins of Late‐Age US Immigrants

We use administrative data about new legal permanent residents to show how family unification chain migration changed both the age and regional origin of US immigrants. Between 1981 and 1995, every 100 initiating immigrants from Asia sponsored between 220 and 255 relatives, but from 1996 through 2000, each 100 initiating immigrants from Asia sponsored nearly 400 relatives, with one‐in‐four ages 50 and above. The family migration multiplier for Latin Americans was boosted by the legalization program: from 1996 to 2000, each of the 100 initiating migrants from Latin America sponsored between 420 and 531 family members, of which 18–21 percent were ages 50 and over.     

Toward a Minority Culture of Mobility: Immigrant Integration into the African‐American Middle Class

Two important social transformations have occurred since the 1960s: the rise of the Black middle class and the influx of immigrants from Latin, America, Asia and Africa. The cultural and economic outcomes for first‐ and second‐generation Black immigrants are often linked to the Black poor/underclass. However, we understand little about the ways in which the Black middle class is a potential pathway of integration for immigrants. This paper reviews the sociological debates on the socioeconomic incorporation of immigrants and the racial and ethnic relations of new and old African‐Americans. It discusses the important contributions of minority culture of mobility hypothesis for class‐based theories of immigrant integration. We draw from the literature on social stratification, race relations and immigrant incorporation in order to chime in on the conversation about how becoming socially mobile in America may mean having similar social experience as the African‐American or minority middle class. The paper also suggests ways to better analyze the relationship between identity, integration, space and generation in minority incorporation.     

SCHOOL QUALITY AND RETURNS TO EDUCATION OF U.S. IMMIGRANTS

Using the U.S. labor market as a common point of reference, this article investigates the influence of source country school quality on the returns to education of immigrants. Based on 1980 and 1990 census data, we first estimate country-of-origin specific returns to education. Results reveal that immigrants from Japan and northern Europe receive high returns and immigrants from Central America receive low returns. Next we examine the relationship between school quality measures and these returns. Holding per capita GDP and other factors constant, immigrants from countries with lower pupil-teacher ratios and greater expenditures per pupil earn higher returns to education.)     

Gender differences in the occupational status of undocumented immigrants in the United States: experience before and after legalization

"This article examines the incorporation of a national sample of undocumented immigrants both before and after they applied to legalize their status under the provisions of the [U.S.] Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). Data from the 1989 and 1992 Legalized Population Surveys (LPS-1 and LPS-2) are used. These surveys provide labor force and occupational data for three critical reference periods: as newly arrived undocumented immigrants, as experienced undocumented immigrants, and as documented immigrants.... The overall upward mobility of both men and women between first job and the occupation held at time of application for legalization continued after legalization. On average, men also continued to report higher status jobs than women, although women did somewhat better after their status was legalized." This is a revised version of a paper originally presented at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America.     

Through the Front Door: The Housing Outcomes of New Lawful Immigrants1

Immigrants represent an increasingly vital component of the U.S. housing market, though there is a substantial and growing gap in homeownership rates between natives and the foreign born. We employ the New Immigrant Survey‐2003 to examine the housing tenure of immigrants recently adjusted to new legal permanent resident status. The results reveal important cross‐national differences in the linkages between transfers to the origin country, relationships with U.S. mainstream financial institutions, previous unauthorized experience, and housing tenure. Analyses also document that immigrants occupy three distinct housing outcomes in America; renting, owning, and living for free.     

Geographic mobility of the foreign-born Chinese in large metropolises, 1985-1990

"The spatial assimilation and ethnic resources models, two major theoretical explanations of the adaptation of immigrants, provide different views on the mechanism of spatial mobility of immigrants. We used the 1990 census 5 percent Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to analyze the migration of foreign-born Chinese in three large metropolises--New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. We tested the two explanations in this study and argue that our results largely support the assimilation model. In addition, we contend that macroeconomic conditions of ethnic enclaves and characteristics of ethnic economies are also important in affecting the geographic redistribution of immigrants." This paper was originally presented at the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America.     

Socioeconomic dualism: the case of Israeli-born immigrants in the United States

Relying on the 1980 US Census of Foreign-Born Population and the 1979 Immigration and Naturalization Service Public Use File, this article compares Israeli-born Americans (including Arabs) to both the US and Israeli populations with respect to age, marital status, unemployment, education, industry, occupation, and income as of 1979-1980. Some of the results, mainly those pertaining to the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Israeli immigrants as compared to their society of origin, corroborate previous research. Thus, Israeli-born immigrants in the US held top white-collar jobs and were less likely to be unemployed than the rest of the Israeli labor force. Once in America, however, it seems that not all Israeli-born Americans are as successful as portrayed by past research. In fact, the Census data reveal occupational and economic dualism among the population of Israeli-born Americans. The reasons for this dualism are discussed.     

Measures of Assimilation in the Marriage Market: Mexican Americans 1970–1990

In 1965 the United States rewrote its immigration laws, and immigration increased sharply as a result. The immigrants and the children of immigrants from the post‐1965 period are slowly becoming more influential in U.S. life; the largest of these groups are the Mexican immigrants and the Mexican Americans. The rapid growth of Hispanic and Asian populations in the United States has led to a renewed interest in the question of assimilation; that is, will the new groups assimilate, and if so how long will it take? Will they become part of White America? Will some groups assimilate into the Black‐dominated urban underclass (a process Portes called segmented assimilation)? Will some groups remain permanently separate and socially isolated? In this article, I examine the behavior of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the U.S. marriage market, using census data from 1970, 1980, and 1990. The findings are that Mexican Americans are assimilating with non‐Hispanic Whites over time, and the evidence tends to reject the segmented assimilation hypothesis. The interplay between intermarriage and endogamy is studied with log linear models; some variations by geography and U.S. nativity are noted.     

Geographic and Spatial Assimilation of Immigrants from Central America's Northern Triangle

With declines in migration from Mexico, the countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) – El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala – are now responsible for some of the largest increases in the population density of Latinos in the United States. Using data from the 5‐year estimates of the 2016 American Community Survey and the Atlas of Rural and Small‐Town America, this article provides a spatial framework for settlement among NTCA immigrants in America. Findings illustrate that, unlike previous streams of Latino migration, which tended to be more agriculturally driven, NTCA immigrants are likely to choose settlement destinations in densely populated counties which support manufacturing rather than those which are farming dependent. We also find that while NTCA communities are predominant in new destinations like Prince Georges and Montgomery counties Maryland, they are also dominant in older Latino destinations like Harris County, Texas and Los Angeles county, California.     

Immigration reform and the browning of America: tensions,conflicts and community instability in metropolitan Los Angeles

"Tensions, conflicts, and community instability associated with heightened immigration--especially of nonwhite immigrant groups--threaten to balkanize America. This article highlights the root causes of the growing opposition to both immigrants and U.S. immigration policy--the nativist backlash, presents a typology of the community-level conflicts that have arisen as a consequence of heightened immigration--legal and illegal--to the United States over the last 30 years, and outlines the conditions under which diversity can be brought to the forefront as one of society's strengths.... The 1992 Los Angeles County Social Survey (LACSS)...provides insights into the nature and magnitude of intergroup stereotyping and prejudice in a community in which large numbers of immigrants have settled."     

Indigenous Immigrants from Latin America (IILA): Racial/Ethnic Identity in the U.S.

In recent decades, migration from all corners of the world has created one of the most racially/ethnically diverse immigrant populations in the history of the United States. While today migratory flows are predominantly from Asia, immigrants from Latin America continue to make up the largest immigrant group in the United States. The influx of this group reflects the heterogeneity of the Latin American region, including Latin American immigrants who identify as indigenous in their countries of origin. Through a brief overview of how indigeneity, race, and ethnicity have been historically framed in Latin America, I discuss how Indigenous Immigrants from Latin American (IILA) position their indigeneity within their racial/ethnic identity in the United States. I consider how migration shapes indigenous identity and propose the use of Social Identity Theory (SIT) to explore how IILA negotiate a racial/ethnic identity while maintaining their indigeneity in a U.S. context.     

The Diffusion of Cricket to America: A Figurational Sociological Examination

Abstract  This paper examines the historical development of cricket in America and seeks to explain why, despite having a significant initial impact, the game ultimately became culturally marginal. It is argued that class and cricketing relations in England in the mid-nineteenth century had a significant and hitherto unacknowledged impact on the diffusion of the game to America, and that this unplanned social process can only be understood in the light of the specific interdependencies between the British and Anglo-Americans, between upper and lower class English immigrants, and between English immigrants and "Native White Americans". Correlatively, this analysis spreads new light on the establishment of baseball as America's national game, illustrating a greater level of dependence on the English and English sport than is traditionally attributed.     

Back to the South: Social and Political Aspects of Latin American Migration to Southern Europe

When migration from the Latin American and Caribbean countries to Europe is studied, a preferential stream can be noted towards southern Europe. There would also appear to have been a remarkable growth in the volume of flows in this direction in recent years. The flows themselves vary: in the case of Spain, nationals from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Argentina predominate; Portugal is the recipient of Brazilians; and Italy mainly plays host to nationals from Peru and Ecuador. These flows reveal the importance of various factors: economic push and pull mechanisms; the former presence in the region of Spain and Portugal as erstwhile colonial powers; the earlier waves of emigrants in that direction from Spain, Portugal and Italy; a relatively more favourable social reception; and political initiatives that favour the new sending countries. In other words, economic gaps, former historical links, cultural and linguistic affinities, family ties and diplomatic channels suggest that a special route exists for migrants from Latin America. The topics that will be expanded upon in this paper include the factors explaining recent immigration to southern Europe; the economic incorporation of immigrants; the social framework of flows, including reactions from local populations; and the tentative and multiple policy responses to immigration. Conclusions indicate that the potential for movements from Latin America, resulting from both previous and current links, has proved to be a favourable response to the need for immigrant workers in the case of southern European societies. Despite the familiar path (albeit in the reverse direction), the economic incorporation of immigrants has mainly occurred in the low‐ranking jobs, as was the case with other inflows. This stemmed from market needs, state failures and the importance of the family. However, given the numerous links between Latin America and southern Europe, the social and policy responses adopted towards these immigrants seem to have been more beneficial than towards other groups.     

Economic Outcomes among Latino Migrants to Spain and the United States: Differences by Source Region and Legal Status

Using representative national surveys, this paper compares economic outcomes among Latin American migrants to Spain and the United States in the first cross-national comparison using quantitative data. Considering the geographic location and social proximity of each country with respect to Latin America, we detect a critical selection effect whereby the majority of Latin American migrants to Spain originate in South America from middle class backgrounds, whereas most migrants to the United States are Central Americans of lower class origins. This selection effect accounts for cross-national differences in the probability of employment, occupational attainment, and wages earned. Despite differences in the origins and characteristics of Latino immigrants to each country, demographic and human and social capital factors appear to operate similarly in both places; and when models are estimated separately by legal status, we find that effects are more accentuated for undocumented compared with documented migrants, especially in the United States.     

NEITHER ‘NON–’NOR ‘BECOMING’

The concept of whiteness is seductive; it strikes a chord and resonates, highlighting what was long ignored in the history of immigrants in America. However, in reading the literature, one cannot help but be troubled by the reduction of a plethora of relations to a singular binary, as important as that binary may be. This paper examines the experience of Polonia (the Polish Diaspora) in America, drawing on broad historical evidence as well as a particular ritual of identification (the Pulaski Day Parade in Philadelphia), in order to highlight the follies of reducing the immigrant experience to one of ‘becoming white.’ This paper challenges three major assumptions in whiteness studies: the particular relationship between ethnicity and race found therein; the assumptions regarding the assimilation of immigrant groups; and the centrality of the white/black binary in processes of identification. Ultimately, the argument presented here posits that to maintain whiteness as an analytically useful concept, it needs to be placed within the complex multitude of relations in which it occurs in the actual experiences of immigrants.