Understanding Motives for Migration in Working with Immigrant Families

There are good reasons to expect immigrant families' experiences in the host society to differ vastly. What impact might rationales for relocation have on immigrant families' pre-migration and post-migration characteristics in mainstream America? This article reviews existing research by drawing on various migration theories and explores the potential linkage between forces that propelled the move and immigrant families' adaptation patterns that followed. Three non-mutually exclusive principal motives were proposed to explain the substantial differences that exist among immigrants. Also considered are theoretical explanations that would facilitate effective practice and intervention among social work practitioners and policy planners.     

Social and human capital in immigrant adaptation:: The case of Canadian business immigrants

Purpose: With the resurgence of immigration to North America in the past three decades, research on immigrant adaptation and the attendant issues of assimilation has burgeoned. A prevailing assumption of much of this research is that social capital is a vital resource enabling immigrants to find their economic and social niches in the host society. In a word, social capital is a key factor in the immigrant adaptation process. This assumption has been especially prominent in research focusing on one specific subset of immigrants: entrepreneurs. Social capital in the form of ethnic networks and family ties is assumed to function critically in the establishment and operation of immigrant-owned businesses. This paper argues that although the formation and expenditure of social capital may typify the experiences of many or even most immigrant entrepreneurs, some enter the host society with sufficient human and/or financial capital that enables them to forego the utilization of social capital in the adaptation process.Methods: To demonstrate, I draw upon in-depth interviews conducted with 70 immigrant entrepreneurs in the province of Ontario, Canada between 1993 and 1995. All interviewees entered Canada under the auspices of the Canadian Business Immigration Program, a federal program designed to attract immigrants with demonstrable business and managerial skills that presumably will lead to the establishment of a firm and thus to the subsequent creation of jobs and economic activity. A formal requirement of their entrance, then, is the possession of proven business skills, a critical form of human capital that facilitates successful economic adaptation in the host society.Forms of social capital are described and their applicability to the adaptation experiences of the interviewees is analyzed. What is found among these business immigrants is a minimal reliance on social capital in establishing and operating their firms. In securing investment capital, finding a work force, and acquiring information, ethnic and family ties, the most common forms of social capital for immigrants generally and for immigrant entrepreneurs in particular, do not play a major role. Solidarity with co-ethnics and the use of family labor, so common among conventional immigrant entrepreneurs, are not of significant import in the economic adaptation of these business immigrants. Moreover, ties to coethnics are only minimally significant in patterns of social adaptation as well.Results: It is concluded that immigrants entering the host society with pre-migration intentions of business ownership possess sufficient human capital that enables them to disregard the formation and utilization of social capital in their economic and social adaptation. In this they differ from immigrants who take a more conventional path to business ownership, that is, laboring in the mainstream work force following entrance into the host society and gradually accumulating resources that lead to entrepreneurship.For business immigrants with children, however, social capital does play a key role in the decision to immigrate. Business immigrants are prepared to abandon successful firms in the origin society in order to provide their children with a more promising socioeconomic environment, including above all what is viewed as superior opportunities for education. Hence, the social capital that inheres in close-knit family arrangements provides incentive for parents to accept losses in financial capital in order to increase their children’s human capital.Conclusion: The context of the receiving society may also be seen as a form of social capital for Canadian business immigrants. All declare that quality of life, rather than the lure of financial success, serves as their major incentive to immigrate to Canada. Moreover, the fact that they enter a society that officially proclaims its multicultural character offers them the opportunity to become Canadian but to retain their ethnicity. The source of social capital in this case, then, is not the ethnic community, but the broader society.     

Inter-ethnic friendship and negative ties in secondary school

This paper investigates several different aspects of inter-ethnic relationships. It focuses on friendships and negative ties between secondary school students from different ethnic backgrounds, introducing and measuring two different aspects of ethnicity: self-declared ethnicity, and ethnicity based on peer perception. These are first applied separately and then together on a sample of secondary school students in Hungary consisting of two ethnic groups: Roma and non-Roma Hungarian (N = 420). Friendships and negative ties are modelled using cross-sectional exponential random graph models for sixteen classrooms separately, and then individual models are summarized using meta-analysis. Based on the social identity approach, we predict that inter-ethnic friendships are less likely, and negative ties are more likely, than those within ethnic groups; and that majority students reject their minority peers more than the other way around. Moreover, minority students are expected to exclude those whom they perceive as minorities, but who, at the same time, identify with the majority group, since these classmates might seem to them as “traitors” of their “original” ethnic group. Results mostly confirm our hypotheses, emphasizing the role of perceived ethnicity: majority students tend to dislike peers whom they perceive as minorities, regardless of these peers’ self-declared ethnicity; on the other hand, minority students are likely to send friendship nominations towards their perceived minority classmates if these also declare themselves as minorities, but, as predicted, negative nominations if these declare themselves as majorities. This supports our general idea that different ethnicity aspects might influence friendships and negative ties in different ways, and inconsistencies in someone's ethnic categorization might play an important role in social rejection.     

Poverty among long-term united states immigrants

In this paper we analyze the economic and social characteristics of impoverished long-term immigrants. We investigate in what ways this group differs from poor natives and what factors contribute towards the economic success or failure of long-term immigrants. We found that poor long-term immigrants are more likely than poor natives to live in central cities and to work full-time, and less likely to live in non-female-headed households. Long-term immigrants from refugee countries are over six times as likely ana immigrants from Mexico over three times as likely to be poor as long-term immigrants from Europe, even after considering family structure, education, and citizenship. Also, immigrants who live in single female-headed families are considerably more likely to be poor than those who live in married-couple families, and immigrants in extended families are less likely to be poor than those who are not. The welfare reform bill redefines eligibility criteria for immigrants with respect to participation in Food Stamps, SSI and AFDC. Because of the high risk of poverty among long-term immigrants (particularly refugees), their low rates of naturalization, and the predominance of extended families, it is likely that long-term immigrants will suffer economic setbacks as a result of welfare reform. We posit that this economic hardship is exacerbated by the fact that anti-poverty policies are not tailored to the circumstances of long-term immigrants, many of whom already work full-time     

‘Survival Employment’: Gender and Deskilling among African Immigrants in Canada

Recent research points to a growing gap between immigrant and native‐born outcomes in the Canadian labour market at the same time as selection processes emphasize recruiting highly educated newcomers. Drawing on interviews with well‐educated men and women who migrated from countries in sub‐Saharan Africa, this paper explores the gendered processes that produce weak economic integration in Canada. Three‐quarters of research participants experienced downward occupational mobility, with the majority employed in low‐skilled, low‐wage, insecure forms of “survival employment”. In a gendered labour market, where common demands for “Canadian experience”, “Canadian credentials” and “Canadian accents” were uneven across different sectors of the labour market, women faced particular difficulties finding “survival employment”; in the long run, however, women’s greater investment in additional post‐secondary education within Canada placed them in a somewhat better position than men. The policy implications of this study are fourfold: first, we raise questions about the efficacy of Canadian immigration policies that prioritize the recruitment of well‐educated immigrants without addressing the multiple barriers that result in deskillling; second, we question government policies and settlement practices that undermine more equitable economic integration of immigrants; third, we address the importance of tackling the “everyday racism” that immigrants experience in the Canadian labour market; and finally, we suggest the need to re‐think narrowly defined notions of economic integration in light of the gendered nature of contemporary labour markets, and immigrants’ own definitions of what constitutes meaningful integration.     

Immigrants working with co‐ethnics: Who are they and how do they fare?

Participation in ethnic economies has been regarded as an alternative avenue of economic adaptation for immigrants and minorities in major immigrant‐receiving countries. This study examines one important dimension of ethnic economies: co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace. Using a large national representative sample from Statistics Canada’s 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this study addresses four questions: (1) what is the level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace for Canada’s minority groups? (2) How do workers who share the same ethnicity with most of their co‐workers differ from other workers in socio‐demographic characteristics? (3) Is higher level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with lower earnings? (4) Is higher level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with higher levels of life satisfaction? The results show that only a small proportion of immigrants and the Canadian‐born work in ethnically homogeneous settings. In Canada’s eight largest metropolitan areas about 10 per cent of non‐British/French immigrants share a same ethnic origin with the majority of their co‐workers. The level is as high as 20 per cent among Chinese immigrants and 18 per cent among Portuguese immigrants. Among Canadian‐born minority groups, the level of co‐ethnic workplace concentration is about half the level for immigrants. Immigrant workers in ethnically concentrated settings have much lower educational levels and proficiency in English/French. Immigrant men who work mostly with co‐ethnics on average earn about 33 per cent less than workers with few or none co‐ethnic coworkers. About two thirds of this gap is attributable to differences in demographic and job characteristics. Meanwhile, immigrant workers in ethnically homogenous settings are less likely to report low levels of life satisfaction than other immigrant workers. Among the Canadian‐born, co‐ethnic concentration is not consistently associated with earnings and life satisfaction.     

Between Two Worlds: Source‐Country Gender Roles and Gender Differences in Educational Attainment among Immigrant Children

Recent scholarship has focused on the relationship between source‐country characteristics such as female labor force participation, fertility, level of economic development, gender role attitudes, and immigrants’ labor market assimilation. These studies refer to national‐level factors when accounting for the vast differences in home‐country groups in labor market outcomes. This study asks to what extent these source‐country characteristics affect immigrant children's educational outcomes. Using data from the 2006 Canadian Census and World Values Survey, this article examines the extent to which the gender gap in educational attainment among immigrant children is associated with source‐country factors. Female child immigrants who come from countries with high female labor force participation and high levels of GDP have an advantage over their male counterparts in university education. Source‐country gender role ideology played a role in university completion rates for immigrant parents, but not for child immigrants.     

The Economic Returns of Immigrants’ Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: The Case of the Netherlands1

This paper aims at explaining to what extent social capital can help immigrants in the Netherlands make headway on the labor market. Two forms of social capital are identified. Bonding refers to a dense network with thick trust and is measured as the strength of family ties and trust in the family. Bridging implies a crosscutting network with thin trust and is measured as inter-ethnic contacts and outward orientation. It is examined to what extent bonding and bridging for immigrants in the Netherlands can be associated with a higher likelihood of employment and higher income. Results show that (1) bridging networks are positively associated with both employment and income; (2) bonding networks do not affect economic outcomes; and (3) levels of trust (neither thick nor thin) cannot explain economic outcomes.     

Acculturation and Post-Migration Stress in Middle-Aged Chinese Immigrant Women in Philadelphia: Variation between the Fujianese and the non-Fujianese women

The experience of acculturation in Chinese immigrant women from the rural coastal province of Fujian has not been well studied despite of their growing numbers in American cities. This exploratory study is an attempt to examine the experience of acculturation and post-migration stress in Fujianese immigrant women as compared to those from other parts of China. The study is based on a convenience sample 240 Fujianese and 162 non-Fujianese Chinese immigrant women living in Philadelphia.Results from bivariate analyses showed that the variation in demographic characteristics between Fujianese and non-Fujianese women was marginal; that all Chinese women in this study reported experiencing a unidimensional process of acculturation and a domain-generic model of acculturation; and that the Fujianese women showed a higher level of post-migration stress than the non-Fujianese women. In multiple regression controlling for demographic characteristics and including all the women in our sample, more acculturated women reported a higher level of post-migration stress. However, separate multiple regression analyses for Fujianese and non-Fujianese women revealed a different pattern of post-migration stress models. The findings suggest the importance of further research to understand acculturation and post-migration stress among Fujianese immigrant women.     

When friendship is stronger than prejudice. Role of intergroup friendships among adolescents in two distinct socio-cultural contexts of immigration

Despite the structural characteristics of international migration in most European countries, the persistence of prejudice and negative attitudes towards immigrants represents an unsolved problem that erodes social cohesion. European institutions continue to be concerned about the spread of xenophobia, especially among young generations. This article aims to shed light on the crucial role of intergroup friendships, considered a key factor in reducing the hostility toward immigrant groups. In particular, the aim is to verify the effects of intergroup friendships on prejudice, using data derived from an international survey carried out in France and Italy, two emblematic European countries as regarding the experience of international migration. 1,642 French and Italian adolescents, selected by a rationale choice sample, were involved: multivariate analysis confirmed the hypothesis that adolescents who hold intergroup friendships show lower levels of prejudice. The influence of the intergroup friendships on the decrease of intolerance is evident especially on socioeconomic and security issues while for the identity matters its effects are moderated by the country of residence of the participants. Considering these results, positive contacts among local and immigrant populations are recommended in order to reduce social fragmentation and foster social cohesion.     

Who is fighting with whom? How ethnic origin shapes friendship,dislike, and physical violence relations in German secondary schools

This study examines the role of ethnic background for friendship, dislike, and violence networks in secondary school. We analyze data on multiple networks from a large-scale study of more than 2500 seventh-graders in Germany. In addition to ethnic homophily in friendship networks, our results reveal a tendency among students to dislike ethnic outgroup members (ethnic heterophobia). However, students are more likely to engage in violence towards same-ethnic peers than outgroup members. This is partly due to the greater prevalence of violence among students who are close in the friendship network and students who spend time together outside of school. Moreover, schools marked by stronger ethnic homophily in friendships tend to display higher levels of ethnic heterophobia but exhibit higher levels of intra-ethnic rather than inter-ethnic violence.Keywords: Ethnic homophily; Violence; School networks; Multiplex networks; Exponential random graph models; Bullying     

Family Change and Economic Well-being in Canada: The Case of Recent Immigrant Families with Children

This paper examines the relationship between family change and economic well‐being among recent immigrant families with children to Canada during the 1977 to 1997 period. Whereas the average income to needs ratio of all Canadian families with children is up modestly over this period, this study documents a substantial decline in the average level of economic well‐being of recent immigrants. In this context, this study draws attention to the relevance of not only structural explanations that emphasize the role of labour markets and/or government policy in shaping the economic conditions of immigrants, but also the potential impact of shifts in the living arrangements and family structure of immigrants. More specifically, an increased incidence of lone parenthood has had a net negative impact on the economic well‐being of immigrants, albeit not to the same extent as among non‐immigrants in Canada. Yet, other changes have had a slight positive impact, including an ongoing decline in the average number of children per family, an upward shift in the age distribution of parents, and a slight increase in the tendency of immigrants to co‐reside with family members beyond the immediate nuclear family.     

The unemployment insurance compensation. Usage of Canada's immigrants in selected provinces, 1981-1988

This paper explores the relationship between province of residence and the use of unemployment insurance (UI) among immigrants who landed in Canada during the period 1981-88.
Use of a new data set, the Longitudinal Immigration Data Base, overcomes the restriction that other data sets are cross-sectional only in nature or do not identify birthplace.
Our principal conclusion is that more generous UI benefits and poorer economic conditions than the Canadian average have a positive impact on the fraction of immigrants who receive UI. In addition, the province of residence has a separate effect on the likelihood of claiming UI, perhaps due to mobility costs.
Because national immigration policies have a differential impact across provinces, it is understandable that provincial policy makers wish to have greater influence over federal immigration policies.     

Estimating Self‐Selection of Immigrants: Comparing Earnings Differentials Between Natives and Immigrants in the US and Israel

Immigrants’ economic assimilation in host countries is determined by patterns of self‐selection on both – observed attributes (mainly human capital) and unobserved attributes of the immigrants from their source countries. In the present study immigrants’ economic assimilation in the United States and Israel are compared. More specifically, the study compares the impact of immigrants’ unobserved characteristics on their earnings in both countries by applying a model for decomposing difference in differentials. It makes use of United States and Israeli decennial census data for comparing self‐selection patterns on unobserved attributes of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) who arrived in the United States and Israel during the 1970s. The results indicate that FSU immigrants who chose the United States have significantly higher levels of unobserved earnings determinants than those who chose Israel. These results are discussed in light of migration theories.     

The Human Capital Characteristics and Household Living Standards of Returning International Migrants in Eastern and Southern Africa

Africa’s experience with return migration is not new. However, few empirical studies have examined the social and economic characteristics of returning migrants within the continent. In this study, the human capital endowments and household living standards of returning migrants in Uganda and South Africa are examined using recently available data. The study compares returnees in both countries with immigrants as well as the native‐born population with no international migration experience. It also investigates how factors such as previous country of residence, year of arrival, and other demographic factors predict levels of education and living standards among returning migrants. In Uganda, the results show that recently arrived returning migrants had better educational endowments than both immigrants and non‐migrants. Migrants who returned to Uganda following the fall of Idi Amin’s regime had the lowest educational levels and lowest living standards compared to other returnees. Furthermore, the results indicate that previous residence in countries in the West was associated with four additional years of schooling while returning migrants arriving from other African countries had the lowest levels of schooling among returning migrants. In South Africa, the study finds that returnees arriving almost immediately following the end of Apartheid had the highest levels of education compared to either immigrants or non‐migrants. Returnees on average also had the highest household living standards in South Africa. Among South African immigrants, the results indicate that those arriving towards the end of the century had lower educational endowments compared to immigrants who arrived in the country two to four years after the end of Apartheid.     

Remittance Activity among Brazilians in the US and Canada

This comparative study uses data collected in 1990 and 1991 to examine the remittance behavior of Brazilians who had recently arrived in Canada and the United States. These data permit an examination of remittance activity among immigrants relatively soon after their arrival in a pair of host destinations. Prior to contrasting the remittance activity of these newly arrived immigrants, we first document the high degree of similarity between the two groups at their time of arrival; a point that becomes important when contrasting their divergent outcomes. Next, this study contributes to the research literature on micro‐level remittance patterns and behaviors by focusing on three policy relevant dependant variables. More specifically, multivariate analyses are undertaken to examine those individual‐level factors that best determine: (1) who remits, (2) how much they remit, and (3) when funds are remitted for productive purposes. Because the data analyzed were collected with the same instrument, results are then contrasted for the two destinations. One major finding to emerge from this cross‐national study was that even immigrants who are extremely similar on all socio‐economic measures at time of arrival may soon manifest divergent outcomes due to their distinctive country of destination experiences. Consequently, although some common predictors were found in both locales, there were far fewer than expected. For example, family obligation variables were usually significant in the predicted directions for the United States data, while this was almost never the case for the Canadian data. Furthermore, some variables often assumed to predict remittance behavior were insignificant in both locations. This study concludes by considering possible explanations for these results, as well as discussing the need for additional theoretical work and data collection in the area of immigrant remittance activity.     

Demographic changes and nationalism

This article examines the different characteristics of the many peoples inhabiting what used to be the Soviet Union and communist Eastern Europe, including Yugoslavia. The differences among these nationalities, or ethnic groups, are illustrated using the example of demographic modernization, showing how different peoples have or have not passed through the demographic transition process. The author looks at ethnic differences in mortality, fertility, natural increase, and migration, as well as economic and social inequalities among ethnic groups. The prospects for inter-ethnic conflict are assessed.     

The determinants of religiosity among immigrants and the native born in Europe

This paper examines differences in religious behaviors of the native born and immigrants in European countries, measured by self-reported religiosity, frequency of praying, and frequency of church attendance. Using the European Social Survey, we first show that, on average, the religiosity of immigrants is greater than that of the native born and is greater than that of the stayers in the European origins, even among those who report they have no religious affiliation. Hypotheses are tested that can explain these observations. Differences in individual characteristics, such as age, education, income, marital status, and notably religious denominations, partly account for the overall differences. Religiosity of migrants declines with duration in the destination, approaching the levels of both the native born in destination countries and of the stayers in European origin countries. Both origin and destination country characteristics affect religiosity, such as economic development, religious pluralism, religious freedom, and societal attitudes towards religion, suggesting that both economic and culture persistence and adaptation take place.     

Onward Emigration to the United States by Canadian Immigrants between 1995 and 20001

Using data drawn from the 2000 US and the 2001 Canadian Censuses, this paper analyzes the onward emigration of Canadian immigrants to the US between 1995 and 2000. The characteristics of an estimated 48,336 Canadian immigrants who made an onward emigration from Canada to the United States are examined. This paper also seeks to determine whether onward foreign‐born emigrants are representative of immigrants in Canada and Canadian‐born emigrants to the US. Results indicate that onward emigrants are primarily young, married, possess a bachelor's degree, earn incomes of $100,000 US or greater, and reside in large immigrant‐receiving states and metropolitan areas.     

We didnt come here to be poor: The pre- and post-migration experiences of young immigrants

The ongoing debate about U.S. immigration policies and the often uninformed public opinion regarding immigrants and refugees underscore the need for additional research in this area. Much of the existing research and literature focuses on adult immigrants and refugees, indicating a gap regarding the pre- and post-migration experiences of immigrant and refugee children. The goal of this study is to provide insight into this issue. Qualitative evidence was culled from interviews with two teenagers from impoverished backgrounds in Laos and Honduras who immigrated to the U.S. during childhood. Six questions were addressed: 1) What prompted these individuals to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances did they immigrate? 2) What were their pre-migration expectations about the U.S. ?; 3) What were their initial impressions of the U.S.?; 4) How did their socioeconomic status (SES) in their native countries differ from their SES in the U.S.?; 5) How did they adjust to the American public school system?; and 6) What are their future plans? Both teenagers had expected America to solve all of their problems, but they found that their familial conflicts and financial struggles continued after their arrival. Both found that although they no longer lived in abject poverty, their SES in America was not what they had envisioned. Moreover, each had some difficulty adjusting to American culture and the public school system. Since academic success increases the likelihood of financial independence later in life, their stories may contain preliminary insights for educators, social workers and policymakers.