Citation
South, Scott J.; Crowder, Kyle D.; & Chavez, Erick (2005). Geographic Mobility and Spatial Assimilation among U.S. Latino Immigrants. International Migration Review, 39(3), 577-607.Abstract
Although the spatial assimilation of immigrants to the United States has important implications for social theory and social policy, few studies have explored the patterns and determinants of interneighborhood geographic mobility that lead to immigrants' residential proximity to the white, non-Hispanic majority. We explore this issue by merging data from three different sources--the Latino National Political Survey, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and tract-level census data--to begin unraveling causal relationships among indicators of socioeconomic, social, cultural, segmented, and spatial assimilation. Our longitudinal analysis of 700 Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban immigrants followed from 1990 to 1995 finds broad support for hypotheses derived from the classical account of minority assimilation. High income, English language use, and embeddedness in Anglo social contexts increase Latino immigrants' geographic mobility into Anglo neighborhoods. U.S. citizenship and years spent in the United States are positively associated with geographic mobility into more Anglo neighborhoods, and co-ethnic contact is inversely associated with this form of mobility, but these associations operate largely through other predictors. Prior experiences of ethnic discrimination increase and residence in public housing decreases the likelihood that Latino immigrants will move from their origin neighborhoods, while residing in metropolitan areas with large Latino populations leads to geographic moves into "less Anglo" census tracts.URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2005.tb00281.xReference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2005Journal Title
International Migration ReviewAuthor(s)
South, Scott J.Crowder, Kyle D.
Chavez, Erick