Early cognitive skills of Mexican-origin children: The roles of parental nativity and legal status

Although one-third of children of immigrants have undocumented parents, little is known about their early development. Using data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey and decennial census, we assessed how children's cognitive skills at ages 3 to 5 vary by ethnicity, maternal nativity, and maternal legal status. Specifically, Mexican children of undocumented mothers were contrasted with Mexican children of documented mothers and Mexican, white, and black children with U.S.-born mothers. Mexican children of undocumented mothers had lower emergent reading skills than all other groups and lower emergent mathematics skills than all groups with U.S.-born mothers. Multilevel regression models showed that differences in reading skills are explained by aspects of the home environment, but the neighborhood context also matters. Cross-level interactions suggest that immigrant concentration boosts emergent reading and mathematics skills for children with undocumented parents, but does not similarly benefit children whose parents are native born.     

“9·11”后的美欧清真寺与穆斯林移民问题

在全球化过程中，尤其是“9·11”后，美欧穆斯林移民问题日渐凸现，既影响了美国的反恐战略和国土安全，也制约着欧盟一体化进程；美欧清真寺在穆斯林移民问题形成中扮演了不可或缺的角色，成为穆斯林移民宗教信仰与文化持守的精神家园，也成为这些社会边缘人摆脱物质生存挤压的缓冲地带，还成为美欧关于阿拉伯-伊斯兰国家战略决策的晴雨表，甚至成为全球化进程中异质文明间或对话或冲突的感应场；在全球治理的过程中，美欧清真寺为缓解西方与伊斯兰世界的紧张关系发挥了特殊作用。     

Residential segregation in metropolitan established immigrant gateways and new destinations, 1990-2000

In the 1990s, many immigrants bypassed established gateways like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Miami to create new immigrant destinations across the US. In this paper, we examine how segregation and spatial assimilation might differ between established gateways and new destinations among the 150 largest metropolitan areas. Using data from the 1990 and 2000 censuses, we calculate levels of dissimilarity for Hispanics and Asians by nativity for these two gateway types. Our findings show that segregation levels are consistently lower in new destinations. However, Hispanics in new destinations experienced significant increases segregation during the 1990s, suggesting a convergence in residential patterns by destination type. Nevertheless, in both destinations the native-born are less segregated than the foreign born—consistent with immigrant spatial incorporation. Finally, socioeconomic indicators are generally consistent with predictions of spatial assimilation.     

The role of marriage in immigrants’ human capital investment under liquidity constraints

This paper presents a two-period human capital investment model, which is used to study the optimal investment decisions of credit-constrained married immigrants relative to single immigrants and native couples facing a perfect capital market. The model predicts that: (1) The comparative advantage in investment in local skills of one of the spouses may emerge from his/her higher growth rate of imported human capital. (2) The optimal investment of each spouse is non-increasing in the level of imported human capital of the spouse with the comparative advantage in investment, while it is non-decreasing in the level of imported human capital of the other spouse. (3) When two immigrants get married, the spouse with the comparative advantage in investment invests more than when he/she was single whereas the other spouse invests less.

Ethnic concentration in the neighbourhood and majority and minority language: A study of first and second-generation immigrants

Ethnic residential concentration is often found to hamper immigrants’ majority language proficiency. However, there are still several gaps in our understanding of the relationship between ethnic concentration and ethnic minorities’ language practices. This study examines the extent to which ethnic concentration also constrains immigrants’ majority language use, whether contact with natives and co-ethnics mediates these relationships, and whether ethnic concentration relates to second-generation minorities’ minority language proficiency. Structural equation models on data for people of Turkish and Moroccan origin living in the Netherlands (N = 2163) showed that ethnic concentration is indirectly related to weaker majority language proficiency and less majority language use through contact with natives and co-ethnics. For second-generation minorities, ethnic concentration is related to better minority language proficiency.     

Change in Covert Social Movement Networks: The ‘Inner Circle’ of the Provisional Irish Republican Army

In this paper, we contribute to both the growing body of literature on social movement networks and the growing body of literature on change in networks by exploring patterns and mechanisms of change within the network of the ‘inner circle’ of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Specifically, we focus upon the period between 1969 (when it formed) and 1988 (the last point for which we have been able to gather good data). Our primary aims are substantive. We want to know how this network changed over time. In addition, however, our analysis identifies changes which other analysts might look for in their networks and offers methodological suggestions for those who, like us, find that their networks do not meet the assumptions of mainstream approaches to modelling network dynamics. There is a further dimension to the paper, however. We are studying a covert social movement network. This is a special type of movement network whose organisation and dynamics are predicted to vary from other movement networks. Some have suggested that they are inclined to be relatively static because the need for trust within them is so great and the risk to whatever they hold secret so considerable when new ties are formed that their members tend only to recruit within the pool of their pre-existing ties and actively seek to minimise recruitment and the formation of new ties. One of the aims of our paper was to determine whether and to what extent this is so.     

Do immigrants counter the effect of cultural distance on trade? Evidence from US state-level exports

We examine the effects of immigrants and cultural distance on US state-level exports, placing emphasis on the extent to which immigrants may offset the influence of cultural distance with respect to the initiation and intensification of exports. Our findings suggest that greater cultural differences between the US and immigrants’ home countries reduce both the likelihood that exporting occurs and, when exporting is taking place, the level of exports. Immigrants are found to exert pro-export effects that offset, at least partially, the trade-inhibiting effects of cultural distance. The estimated effects of both cultural distance and immigrants are found to be greater when the level of exports is examined as compared to when the likelihood that exporting occurs is considered; however, significant variation in the export-initiation and intensification effects of immigrants and cultural distance is reported across states.     

The health experience of Irish people in a North West London 'community saved'

This paper describes the development of a 'community saved' among first generation Irish immigrants in London. A 'community saved' is defined by its containment of numerous personal relationships formed over time; it is 'densely knit' and 'bounded'. Within this paper links are described between the development and survival of this Irish immigrant community, with its emphasis upon both family ties and work as a means of enhancing social cohesion, and its members' lived health experience. Social theory in its most comprehensive form, as a 'tool' of social research which seeks to provide explanations of events in the real world, provides a unifying theoretical framework for the study. The development of 'social capital', or the growth of values such as trust and reciprocity that facilitate societal functioning and community life, provides the main unifying theme linking community life to health experience. Precisely how it does so may mean moving, at times, in and out of empirical data. It involves participants using their own words and their own phrases to describe their particular experience: an exposition beyond the scope of mere statistical measurement. Cette article offre un portrait d'une 'communauté sauvée' parmi des immigrés irlandais Londinien de la première génération. Une 'communuaté sauvée' se défine par son endiguement de plusiers rapports crées depuis longtemps. C'est une communuaté unie et bornée qui met en valeur les rapports familiales et le travail comme moyens d améliorer la cohésion sociale. L'article brosse un tableau des liens entre le développement et la survivance de cette colonie irlandaise, et ses expériences vis àvis de la santé. La théorie sociale, dans sa forme la plus compréhensive, c'est àdire comme un instrument de recherche sociale qui s'addresse à expliquer les événements dans la vie réelle, fournit ici un cadre théorique unifiant. Le développement du 'biens d'équipement' où la croissance des valeurs telles que la confiance et la réciprocité, valeurs facilitant le fonctionnement de la societé et la vie associative, fournit la thème qui unit la vie associative aux expériences salutaires.     

Gatekeepers of the American Dream: How teachers’ perceptions shape the academic outcomes of immigrant and language-minority students

High school teachers evaluate and offer guidance to students as they approach the transition to college based in part on their perceptions of the student's hard work and potential to succeed in college. Their perceptions may be especially crucial for immigrant and language-minority students navigating the U.S. educational system. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), we consider how the intersection of nativity and language-minority status may (1) inform teachers’ perceptions of students’ effort and college potential, and (2) shape the link between teachers’ perceptions and students’ academic progress towards college (grades and likelihood of advancing to more demanding math courses). We find that teachers perceive immigrant language-minority students as hard workers, and that their grades reflect that perception. However, these same students are less likely than others to advance in math between the sophomore and junior years, a critical point for preparing for college. Language-minority students born in the U.S. are more likely to be negatively perceived. Yet, when their teachers see them as hard workers, they advance in math at the same rates as nonimmigrant native English speaking peers. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering both language-minority and immigrant status as social dimensions of students’ background that moderate the way that high school teachers’ perceptions shape students’ preparation for college.     

Building relationships and facilitating immigrant community integration: An evaluation of a Cultural Navigator Program

Despite the long history of immigration in the United States, communities around the country struggle to integrate newcomers into the economic, cultural, and political spheres of society. Utilizing results from the program evaluation of one public library's Cultural Navigator Program, the authors illustrate how communities and public institutions can promote integration and relationship-building between newly arrived immigrants and long-time residents. Existing social networks within receiving communities, conceptualized in this article as social capital, were leveraged to build capacity among newly arrived immigrants and foster inclusivity and integration at the community level. As a place of intervention, public libraries are suggested as a safe and shared space where community integration can be fostered. Insights derived from the evaluation inform a discussion on engaging approaches to immigrant integration. Lessons learned and recommendations for program evaluators and administrators are provided.