Poles and Italians then, Mexicans Now? Immigrant-to-Native Wage Ratios, 1910 and 1940

A good deal of recent discussion among social scientists concerned with immigration is about the disadvantages faced by immigrants who enter the U. S. labor force with much-lower levels of skills than those possessed by the typical native white worker. Among contemporary immigrant groups, by far the most important example is the Mexicans. The challenges faced by such an immigrant today are often contrasted with the challenges faced by low-skilled immigrants who entered the U. S. during the great immigration wave of 1890-1920-most notably Poles, other Slavs, and Italians. In articles published at the end of 2001 in the New York Review of Books, Christopher Jencks drew on research by George Borjas to argue that the wage ratios of Mexicans compared to relevant U.S. workers today were far worse than the comparable wage ratios of "new" immigrants compared to native white workers in 1910. Jencks argues for a reconsideration of immigration policy, especially regarding Mexico. This paper explores the nature of the early evidence in detail. A good deal of ambiguity is involved in the materials, but tests made to date do not contradict Jencks's conclusions about wage ratios during the earlier immigration. The paper draws evidence from IPUMS census datasets from 1900, 1910, 1940, and 1950.immigration, labor force, wage ratios

"Poles and Italians then, Mexicans Now? Immigrant-to-Native Wage Ratios, 1910 and 1940"

A good deal of recent discussion among social scientists concerned with immigration is about the disadvantages faced by immigrants who enter the U. S. labor force with much-lower levels of skills than those possessed by the typical native white worker. Among contemporary immigrant groups, by far the most important example is the Mexicans. The challenges faced by such an immigrant today are often contrasted with the challenges faced by low-skilled immigrants who entered the U. S. during the great immigration wave of 1890-1920-most notably Poles, other Slavs, and Italians. In articles published at the end of 2001 in the New York Review of Books, Christopher Jencks drew on research by George Borjas to argue that the wage ratios of Mexicans compared to relevant U.S. workers today were far worse than the comparable wage ratios of "new" immigrants compared to native white workers in 1910. Jencks argues for a reconsideration of immigration policy, especially regarding Mexico. This paper explores the nature of the early evidence in detail. A good deal of ambiguity is involved in the materials, but tests made to date do not contradict Jencks's conclusions about wage ratios during the earlier immigration. The paper draws evidence from IPUMS census datasets from 1900, 1910, 1940, and 1950.

U. S. Immigration Reform in a Historical Perspective

This article partially reflects the research supported by JSPS KAKENHI, #26380197

Global shifts: U. S. immigration and the cultural impact of demographic change

At the turn of the millennium, we are witnessing intense new worldwide migration and refugee flows. There are now some 100 million transnational immigrants plus an estimated 30 million refugees displaced from their homelands. These flows are largely structured by the intensification of globalization--a process of economic, social, and cultural transformation rapidly accelerating in the last decade. Globalization has increased immigration in a variety of ways. First, transnational capital flows (roughly a trillion dollars cross national boundaries every day) tend to stimulate migration because where capital flows, immigrants tend to follow. Second, the new information and communication technologies that are at the heart of globalization tend to stimulate migration because they encourage new standards of consumption and life-style choices. Would-be immigrants imagine better opportunities elsewhere and mobilize to achieve them. Third, the affordability of mass transportation--last year approximately 1.5 billion airline tickets were sold--has put the migration option within the reach of millions who heretofore could not consider it. Fourth, globalization has stimulated new migration because it has produced uneven results--big winners and losers.Demography ; Economic conditions ; Emigration and immigration

American Dreaming, Global Realities: Rethinking U. S. Immigration History

Review of: "American Dreaming, Global Realities: Rethinking U.S. Immigration History," edited by Donna R. Gabaccia and Vicki L. Rui

Government Document - Albert Strem Naturalization Form

The naturalization form for Albert Strem. Strem served at Fort Ontario in 1943.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/stu_1210th_fort_ontario/1086/thumbnail.jp

Constitutional Law - Right to Travel - Area Restrictions

Area Restrictions-Congressional intent of Passport Act of 1926 and Immigration & Nationality Act of 1952. Zemel v. Rusk, 381 U. S. 1, 85 Sup. Ct. 1271 (1965)

The impact of demographic change on U. S. labor markets: discussion

As its title indicates, the paper by Jane Little and Robert Triest deals with the impact of some upcoming demographic changes on the U. S. labor market. The two changes highlighted are the well-documented population aging and immigration. According to the paper, the challenges raised by these changes are rising and high old-age dependency ratios because of declining numbers of workers to retirees, and slower productivity growth, since migrants tend to have less education than the native-born. ; I would only have quibbles, not quarrels, with their clear and balanced description of these future demographic trends, which relies mainly on Census projections. On both immigration and population aging, however, I believe that better estimates are available than those of the Census. But these superior estimates would still project a future labor force much like the one foreseen in the Little/Triest paper.Demography ; Economic conditions ; Labor market

Exploring the Connection between Immigration and Violent Crime Rates in US Cities, 1980-2000

A popular perception is that immigration causes higher crime rates. Yet, historical and contemporary research finds that at the individual level, immigrants are not more inclined to commit crime than the native born. Knowledge of the macro-level relationship between immigration and crime, however, is characterized by important gaps. Most notably, despite the fact that immigration is a macro-level social process that unfolds over time, longitudinal macro-level research on the immigration-crime nexus is virtually nonexistent. Moreover, while several theoretical perspectives posit sound reasons why over-time changes in immigration could result in higher or lower crime rates, we currently know little about the veracity of these arguments. To address these issues, this study investigates the longitudinal relationship between immigration and violent crime across U. S. cities and provides the first empirical assessment of theoretical perspectives that offer explanations of that relationship. Findings support the argument that immigration lowers violent crime rates by bolstering intact (two-parent) family structures

U. S. Immigration in a Global Context: Past, Present, and Future

Through the use of their own empirical studies, the authors address three themes: 1) immigration in the global context; 2) the scale and characteristics of immigration to the United States; and 3) the. expected future impact of immigration to the United States. The authors focus on U.S. immigration by giving an empirical comparative history which suggests that, while the sheer number of immigrants to the United States has grown, the share of foreignborn people in the U.S. population is well below historic highs. Next they discuss the characteristics of recent and current immigrants to the United States in terms of magnitude, diversity, and conventional notions of quality (education and income), as well as the differing types of U.S. immigration policy immigrants may face. Finally, the authors consider the future of immigration to the United States and suggest that legal immigration will continue to have predominantly positive impacts, while negative impacts will continue to flow from illegal immigration. They note, however, that there are powerful principles and restraints that limit efforts to curb illegal immigration. The authors conclude that the situation is not dire; rather, they believe that the ties created by immigrants may become increasingly important to the United States in an interrelated world economy