The Politics of Numbers

Despite their rising numbers in the population, Latino and Asian Americans have been less politically influential than non-Hispanic whites and African Americans. Some people explain this away by noting that many Latino and Asian Americans are non-citizens, meaning that the group as a whole has less political clout than a simple head count would suggest. But what explains the decisions to become a citizen, or how quickly to naturalize, register, and vote in this new demographic landscape?

In 2003, the Foundation set forth on an ambitious research initiative to assess how well the young adult children of recent immigrants in Los Angeles fare as they move through American schools and into the labor market. The project, dubbed the Immigration and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles (IIMMLA) study, began with a telephone survey that collected data on the young adult children of Mexican, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino immigrants, as well as three comparison groups of native parentage.

According to U.S. census figures, the Latino population in North Carolina nearly quadrupled between 1990 and 2000, making North Carolina the state with the fastest-growing Latino population in the country during that period. Latino children face numerous challenges in learning linguistic, technical, and social skills in an environment where residents are not used to dealing with immigrants. How do the experiences and academic achievement of Latino students in new immigrant-receiving communities differ from those in traditional immigrant gateways?

While scholars and the media have paid considerable attention to patterns of migration to the United States, very little is known about the migration of immigrants within the U.S. after their arrival. The 2000 census revealed a striking new pattern: during the 1990s, immigrants began resettling in large numbers outside of traditional gateway cities. In cities like Raleigh, Reno, and Memphis – all cities without a substantial immigrant presence historically – the number of foreign-born residents grew by 200 percent or more between 1990 and 2000.

On August 29, 2005, the city of New Orleans suffered colossal damage from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, resulting in a mass exodus of the population by the end of the first week of September. New Orleans’ underprivileged residents felt the social and economic repercussions of the hurricane most acutely. Disadvantages are likely to affect the geographic dispersion of the population and the likelihood of return. Where did displaced New Orleans residents reside in the year following the hurricane?

Despite a dramatic rise in the number of African immigrants in the last fifteen years, there have been only a handful of studies of African immigrant adults, and none of these has addressed outcomes for African immigrant children. With support from Russell Sage Foundation, sociologist and demographer Kevin Thomas will study the language and schooling outcomes for children aged 10-19 who have African immigrant parents.

The Foundation, in

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Supplemental Appropriation: January 2003 $17,193

The millennial census affords a unique opportunity to comment on the state of the nation, its history, and its future direction. The Foundation will publish two books, each offering a thought- provoking interpretation of the major themes that define the United States at this resonant historical moment. These books will present a comprehensive profile of the country as it appears in the latest census numbers.