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Immigrants from Latin America and By Rubén G. Rumbaut, Ph.D. Statistical Brief No. 6 April 1995
Contemporary immigration to the United States and the formation of new ethnic groups are the complex and unintended social consequences of the expansion of the nation to its post-World War II position of global hegemony. Immigrant communities in the United States today are related to a history of American military, political, economic, and cultural involvement and intervention in the sending countries, especially in Asia and the Caribbean Basin, and to the linkages that are formed in the process that open a variety of legal and illegal migration pathways. The 19.8 million foreign-born persons counted in the 1990 U.S. census formed the largest immigrant population in the world, though in relative terms, only 7.9% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, a lower proportion than earlier in this century. Today's immigrants are extraordinarily diverse, a reflection of polar-opposite types of migrations embedded in very different historical and structural contexts. Also, unlike the expanding economy that absorbed earlier flows from Europe, since the 1970's new immigrants have entered an "hourglass" economy with reduced opportunities for social mobility, particularly among the less educated, and new waves of refugees have entered a welfare state with expanded opportunities for public assistance. (Rubén G. Rumbaut, 1994) This CIFRAS seeks to make sense of the new diversity, with a focus on immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Some key facts and figures about contemporary immigrants are presented, looking at their patterns of settlement and comparing their distinctive social and economic characteristics to major U.S. racial-ethnic groups. Their different modes of incorporation in - and consequences for - American society are the subject matter of more extensive articles by the author, as noted in the references. The information of this CIFRAS is conveyed in four data tables, drawn from the 1990 U.S. Census of Population. Each table is designed to address separate but interrelated issues of today's Latino population. In order, the tables cover:
In addition, several Figures are presented to highlight certain parts of the tables. Hardcopy Price: $0.00
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