Transplants
The Immigrant Health Advantage: An Examination of African-Origin Black Immigrants in the United States
Justin Vinneau Palarino
Population Research and Policy Review, October 2021, Pages 895–929
Abstract:
The immigrant health advantage suggests that, despite significant socioeconomic disadvantage, immigrant populations report better-than-expected health relative to U.S.-born counterparts. This phenomenon has been repeatedly shown in Hispanic-origin immigrant population with little focus on other racial/ethnic groups. In this study, the immigrant health advantage is examined as it pertains to overweight, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes in African-origin black immigrants (n = 2748) relative to U.S.-born non-Hispanic blacks (n = 71,320). Additionally, to investigate within-immigrant heterogeneity in health deterioration associated with duration in the United States, the health of African-origin black immigrants is compared to non-Hispanic white and Mexican–American immigrants. Analyses are conducted on adults aged 18–85 + (n = 570,675) from the 2000–2018 National Health Interview Survey using binomial logistic regressions. Findings support the notion of an immigrant health advantage and suggest that, relative to U.S.-born blacks, African-origin black immigrants are at lower odds for obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, regardless of duration in the United States. Further, when compared to non-Hispanic white and Mexican–American immigrants, African-origin black immigrants display similar probabilities of reporting overweight, obesity, and diabetes across four duration categories. These findings suggest that, despite potentially experiencing high rates of discriminatory and/or racist behaviors, African-origin black immigrants’ health does not deteriorate differently than this sample of non-black immigrant counterparts. The findings presented here provide further insight into the health of African-origin blacks immigrants, a rapidly growing proportion of both the U.S.-black and foreign-born population.
Perceptions of stereotypically immigrant groups as darker-skinned and politics of immigration in the United States and Britain
Kirill Zhirkov
Politics, Groups, and Identities, forthcoming
Abstract:
Recent evidence indicates that anti-immigration attitudes in white-majority societies have a “racial hue” as they at least partially derive from aversion toward prevalent immigrant groups. Building upon this result, I argue that there is variation in the degree to which people think of stereotypically immigrant groups as darker-skinned, and that this variation has implications for attitudes toward immigration. To test these conjectures, I propose an instrument to measure the associations between social groups and light vs. dark skin tone based on the implicit association test architecture. Using original survey studies in the United States and Britain, I demonstrate that respondents in the two countries indeed tend to perceive stereotypically immigrant groups – Hispanics and Muslims – as darker-skinned than stereotypically native ones (Anglos and Christians respectively). Further, individual differences in these perceptions are related to group-specific prejudice, opinions about immigration, and partisan affect.
Discriminatory Immigration Bans Elicit Anti-Americanism in Targeted Communities: Evidence from Nigerian Expatriates
Aaron Erlich, Thomas Soehl & Annie Chen
Journal of Experimental Political Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Do discriminatory US immigration policies affect foreign public opinion about Americans? When examining negative reactions to US actions perceived as bullying on the world stage, existing research has focused either on US policies that involve direct foreign military intervention or seek to influence foreign countries’ domestic economic policy or policies advocating minority representation. We argue that US immigration policies – especially when they are perceived as discriminatory – can similarly generate anti-American sentiment. We use a conjoint experiment embedded in a unique survey of Nigerian expatriates in Ghana. Comparing respondents before and after President Trump surpisingly announced a ban on Nigerian immigration to the United States, we find a large drop (13 percentage points) in Nigerian’s favorability towards Americans.
Marriage and immigration enforcement: The impact of Secure Communities on immigrant women
Cynthia Bansak & Sarah Pearlman
Economic Inquiry, forthcoming
Abstract:
We investigate if increased deportations under the Secure Communities (SC) program impacted the marriage patterns of immigrant women in the United States. We focus on country of origin-MSA deportation rates, arguing this is appropriate given the dominance of endogamous marriage among immigrants and large heterogeneity in removal rates. We find that rising deportations increased marriage rates and endogamous marriage, decreased exogamous marriage to immigrants from other countries, and had no impact on marriage to native-born men. This is striking because SC likely reduced same ethnicity partners in marriage markets. We find some evidence that increased network effects may explain these results.
The Effect of Immigration on Local Labor Markets: Lessons from the 1920s Border Closure
Ran Abramitzky et al.
Stanford Working Paper, September 2021
Abstract:
In the 1920s, the United States substantially reduced immigration by imposing country-specific entry quotas. We compare local labor markets differentially exposed to the quotas due to variation in the national-origin mix of their immigrant population. US-born workers in areas losing immigrants did not gain in income score relative to workers in less exposed areas. Instead, in urban areas, European immigrants were replaced with internal migrants and immigrants from Mexico and Canada. By contrast, farmers shifted toward capital-intensive agriculture and the immigrant-intensive mining industry contracted. These differences highlight the uneven effects of the quota system at the local level.
The Effect of Immigration Enforcement on Crime Reporting: Evidence from Dallas
Elisa Jácome
Journal of Urban Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Mistrust between immigrants and the police may undermine law enforcement’s ability to keep communities safe. This paper documents that immigration policies affect an individual’s willingness to report crime. I analyze the 2015 Priority Enforcement Program, which focused immigration enforcement on individuals convicted of serious crimes and shifted resources away from immigration-related offenses. I use data from the Dallas Police Department that include a complainant’s ethnicity to show that the number of violent and property crimes reported to the police by Hispanics increased by 4 percent after the introduction of PEP. These results suggest that reducing enforcement of individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety can potentially improve trust between immigrant communities and the police.
De facto immigration enforcement, ICE raid awareness, and worker engagement
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Francisca Antman
Economic Inquiry, forthcoming
Abstract:
We explore whether fear of apprehension affects immigrants' labor market engagement by examining how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removals due to immigration violations and increased awareness of immigration raids impact their labor market outcomes. We find that ICE deportations are associated with reductions in the labor force participation and employment of likely undocumented immigrants when compared to similarly skilled foreign-born US citizens. Effects are particularly strong among women, especially those with children, as well as in industries likely targeted by ICE raids. Controlling for perceived threats and de jure immigration policies has little impact on these results.
Association between Parents' Nativity Status and Influenza Vaccination Rates Among Children
Vasil Yasenov et al.
Stanford Working Paper, September 2021
Abstract:
Previous research has documented lower vaccination rates among ethnic and racial minorities as well as foreign-born people, thus raising concerns about health inequities during pandemics. We analyzed influenza vaccination rates among children with US-born parents and those with at least one immigrant parent. We found that children with immigrant parents have higher odds of receiving the influenza vaccination even after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics.
University prestige, cultural distance of the place of education, and wage differences between high-skilled U.S. immigrants with foreign and domestic credentials
Andrew Argue & Thijs Velema
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine the reasons behind a wage penalty that is applied to foreign-educated immigrants—a phenomenon identified across countries and levels of educational attainment. The lower wages employers offer to high-skilled immigrants are usually attributed to the foreignness of their educational credentials. We argue instead that their disadvantaged economic outcomes are related to the educational prestige of their universities and the cultural distance of their places of education. Employers may interpret signals of ability from the educational prestige associated with credentials and may view immigrants as lacking relevant cultural competence if they perceive the place of education as culturally distant. Using data from the U.S. H-1B visa program, we show that employers do not discount wage offers to immigrants with foreign degrees per se. Instead, we find that they offer lower wages to immigrants with educational credentials from less prestigious universities and more culturally distant places of education.
Postbellum Electoral Politics in California and the Genesis of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
Vincent Geloso & Linan Peng
George Mason University Working Paper, September 2021
Abstract:
After the Civil War, the Democratic party carried an important electoral penalty from being associated with the war. To deal with this penalty, the party took increasingly anti-immigration positions to compete with Republicans. This led some Republican strongholds such as California to become competitive and also forced Republicans to embrace stricter immigration proposals. In this paper, we argue that adopting anti-immigration and raising awareness against immigration made California increasingly competitive in electoral terms. This electoral competitiveness can serve to explain the genesis of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
The Alien Citizen: Social Distance and the Economic Returns to Naturalization in the Southwest
Peter Catron
Social Problems, forthcoming
Abstract:
Citizenship acquisition is often promoted as one factor that can facilitate the economic integration of immigrants. However, not all individuals and groups experience positive benefits from naturalization. This article argues that social distance from the native-born is an important factor that influences who does and does not benefit from citizenship acquisition. Specifically, I create a new continuous measure of social distance for immigrants during the age of mass migration. I show that the relationship between social distance and the economic returns to citizenship takes an inverted U-shape. Those considered closest and furthest away in social distance to the native-born report little to no advantages to citizenship, while those in the middle report larger returns. I then focus on the Mexican population in the historical Southwest and take advantage of a unique enumeration in the complete count 1930 U.S. census that coded Mexicans as either white or Mexican. Mexicans coded as white report economic differences between citizenship statuses, while Mexicans coded as nonwhite report no difference between citizenship statuses. The results suggest that citizenship may not be beneficial to all individuals and groups, depending on where they fall in the ethnoracial hierarchy.