Mexicans have migrated to the United States in greater numbers than any other nationality in the history of the United States. People of Mexican ancestry now make up nine percent of the American population, and Mexican immigrants constitute 31 percent of the foreign-born. In an era characterized by fierce debate over immigration policy and diversity, it is becoming increasingly important to gain a systematic understanding of immigrant incorporation along a number of dimensions.
Latin American indigenous populations are arriving not only to work in U.S. farm fields, but in small and medium-sized cities, where they are becoming a new source of labor in old manufacturing industries and in a growing service sector. Guatemalan Maya began arriving in the United States in the 1980s, fleeing a bloody civil war.
The United States has 9 times the total population and 11 times the gross domestic product of Canada. Yet the two countries are often grouped together as examples of liberal market economies. Both nations provide fewer welfare and workplace support systems to families than most European nations. But even as Canada offers a more generous family support system than the United States, middle-income families on both sides of the border are currently coping with economic challenges—from wage stagnation to rising medical insurance, education, and childcare costs.
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 growing presence of Latino and Asian immigrants, the increased frequency of interracial marriage, and the resurgence of Native American identification have greatly complicated cultural and official racial mapping in the United States. Scholars who focus on race and ethnicity in America note that we have shifted from a “black-white” model to a “prism” of racial-ethnic identity.
Why do people who are not themselves victims of racial discrimination work for racial justice and equality? How do some white Americans develop a commitment to the plight of African Americans, and what is their experience in working to influence the behavior of other whites? While scholars have long studied the causes of racial prejudice and discrimination on the part of whites, few have considered the nature of antiracism. To begin to fill this gap, Mark Warren will conduct a pilot study to explore what motivates certain white Americans to work for racial justice.
Standard theories of immigrant assimilation focus on the way that immigrant cultures grow to mirror (or oppose) the majority society. But these models may be insufficient to study highly multi-ethnic neighborhoods, which are characterized by remarkable heterogeneity and the lack of a clear majority population. Without a majority group to bend towards, will young people in these environments develop in the same way as immigrants reared in highly concentrated ethnic enclaves, or will they form new kinds of identities and friendships that cut across racial and ethnic boundaries?
While the 14th amendment to the U.S. constitution guarantees all citizens “equal treatment under the law,” subtle forms of unequal treatment remain prevalent in American life. A landmark 2002 report by the Institute of Medicine showed that racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care are significant, with black and Hispanic Americans receiving a lower quality of health care than their white counterparts. This translates into higher mortality rates among minority patients.
Group disparities in healthcare are well established. Economic and cultural differences, including patients’ lack of knowledge of Western medical practice and doctors’ lack of understanding of patients’ diverse cultures, have an effect on healthcare and health outcomes for patients. Although studies of these issues among larger minority groups in the United States are common, there have been few efforts to document this phenomenon among smaller cultural groups.
Immigrants to the United States arrive much healthier than their native-born peers. The longer immigrants stay in the United States, however, the more likely their health outcomes are to worsen and align with the native-born. This pattern is referred to as the Immigrant Health Paradox. With an award from the Foundation, sociologists Ida Rousseau Mukenge, Tshilemalema Mukenge, and Obie Clayton will investigate whether the same paradox holds true for African immigrants.