Ethnicity, Race and Immigration in the US

Changing ethnic composition of new immigrant populations  The Classic era: –Shifting from Northern Europeans to Southern and Eastern Europeans –1924 National Origins Act –Total immigration 18,638, % from Europe, 16.2% from Americas  New Regime beginning in 1971 –Dramatic shift away from European immigration and toward America’s

End of European Immigration and Beginning of New Regime  Tools for understanding immigration: Push/Pull factors  End of classical era and the end of World War II –Marshall Plan –Cold War –Economic growth in Europe  Beginning of new regime: growth of Asian Immigration –Aftermath of Vietnam War and Asian Immigration

Economic growth in the US and labor demands  Post War boom in US required a large labor pool. –No quotas on Latin American immigration until 1965  Amendments to Immigration and Nationality Act –Most of US labor demands following World War II met by Latin Americans.

Factors Affecting Assimilation  Stratified Economy  Limited upward mobility  No generation hiatus  Language similarities of new immigrants –Enclaves of immigration –Chain migration

Race and Ethnicity  Race: a socially constructed marker of difference –Race in the US: a form of group identification –Why do we think in terms of race and not class?  Ethnicity: Cultural counterpart to race. Group identification in terms of language, religion, family structure, diet….

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Current Debates about Immigration  Blaming social problems on immigrates, particularly illegal immigrants, has become a powerful political tool. –Tom Tancredo, representation from Colorado Springs  What are the common complaints against illegal immigrants?

Complaints refuted  Drive down wages of Native born Americans? –Minimum wage is set by government, this level is political not economic –Illegal immigrants do not complete with Native born Americans for jobs.  Costing Taxpayers money? –Illegal immigrants pay taxes and use few government services – they pay social security that they can never use: extremely important as baby boomer generation ages.  Terrorism? –Illegal immigrants have not been responsible for a terrorist attack in America

If commonly cited complaints are unfounded, why is there so much resistance to immigration?  Immigration has become deeply political in US  Politicians can use immigration as a way of diverting attention away from growing class differences in the US. –Play on entrenched racist and xenophobic tendencies among Americans.  Rarely is immigration looked at in the context of US policies creating push factors in Latin America: NAFTA and agriculture

Economics of Undocumented Labor Force  Labeling and Power –Okies and illegals  Keeping people in undocumented status allows American businesses to lower costs of production –Keep wages down –Deny benefits –Job insecurity and a highly compliant workforce

Conclusion  Though common complaints against immigration are not supported with evidence, immigration has become a deeply political issue.  This benefits politicians and business owners  Reinforces ethnic and racial differences in the US  Prevents the rise of a collective class consciousness