Featuring Professor Silvia Pedraza
"Assimilation or Transnationalism? Evidence from the Latino National Survey 2006 for Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and South Americans Who Immigrated to the US from 1958-2005."
Using data on 4,863 immigrants from the Latino National Survey (2006), this paper examines how assimilation and transnationalism are socially patterned among four major groups from Latin America—Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and South Americans, as they represent different types of immigrants: labor migrants; professionals; refugees; and entrepreneurial immigrants. To take into account the passage of time and their histories, throughout the authors examine the data by their immigrant cohort of arrival: 1958-1973; 1974-1989; 1990-2005. The authors built Assimilation and Transnationalism Scales and regressed the national origin variable, while controlling for other characteristics, such as the dominant motivation for migration; age, experience; region of settlement; education; parents’ education; gender; marital status; and race. They also considered how assimilation and transnationalism co-vary for each of the groups. Findings show that the passage of time as well as the type of migration mattered. Substantial variation exists in the engagement of immigrants with the US and their prior homelands. The authors underscore the importance of their motivation for migration; varying social resources; historical manner of incorporation; and evolving identities.
RSVP to mejdules@umich.edu. Please excuse multiple postings.
Lunch is provided
