Author Archives: Leslie Berestein Rojas

May 17, 2012 | 2:28 PM | By

Second-generation nation: A look ahead as minority babies become a majority

Photo by David Herholz/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Babies nap in a hospital nursery, February 2010

It doesn’t come as shocking news that for the first time in U.S. history, the majority of the babies being born in the United States are members of Latino, black, Asian and other minority groups. When the 2010 census was taken in April of that year, this number was nearing 50 percent; according to new reports, the tipping point came three months later, in July 2010. By last year, 50.4 percent of children under the age of one belonged to groups considered minorities.

The news falls within a bigger picture: Many of these babies are second-generation Americans born to immigrants. And as the 2010 census showed us, it is the children of immigrants who are boosting the growth of the dominant-minority Latino population, which is no longer fueled so much by immigration. The historic immigration boom from Mexico of the late 20th century has died down, immigrants from there and elsewhere who have chosen to stay in the U.S. are staying long-term, and their children are becoming the new face of the U.S.

In a way, it’s only history repeating itself in a nation made up of generations of immigrants. The perception of what constitutes “American” has slowly evolved over the years, sometimes not easily. But now it’s these kids’ turn. What can we expect from this emerging second-generation nation as our minority-majority babies grow up? A few highlights from the future:

1) The overall picture: As California goes, so goes the country

A recent state population projection from the University of Southern California predicted a state which, as the immigration that fueled its growth in recent decades has slowed, will be older and less crowded than once expected. It will also be increasingly second-generation. According to the report, the share of second-generation Californians with at least one foreign-born parent is expected to go from the 16.9 percent it was in 1990 to 27.1 percent in 2030.

As both foreign- and native-born Californians age, what growth there is in the future working-age population will be dominated by children of immigrants. From the report:

Whereas the main working age population (ages 25 to 64) increased 4.2 million from 1990 to 2010, it is expected to grow moderately less (3.3 million) from 2010 to 2030. Virtually all the projected growth is comprised of native-born who are the children of immigrants (98%).

This contrasts to the earlier growth period, when immigrants themselves accounted for 80% of the growth. In fact, in the coming period, 112% of the 3.3 million working age increase is projected to be from California-born residents (a 3.7 million increase that exceeds losses in other groups).

This sets up a host of challenges, from who will provide lower-wage labor to how to properly educate and train younger second-generation Californians for success. So moving on…

2) There will be educational challenges

Educational attainment varies widely among different ethnic groups, but in general, the picture isn’t ideal for some groups across immigrant generations. From an Urban Institute research brief:

Looking at the dropout rates of immigrant youth in each generation relative to their parents, first-generation Hispanic and Asian immigrant youth make tremendous strides in educational attainment relative to their parents.

But this trend in upward mobility reverses by the third generation (Perreira, Harris, et al. 2007). Furthermore, the second generation is not graduating from college at the same rate as their native non-Hispanic White peers (Fry, 2007).

Increasingly punitive “zero tolerance” policies in public schools have been blamed by critics as contributing to an especially high dropout rate among black and Latino youths. And while some groups of Asian Americans achieve high educational attainment, it’s not universal: There are wide disparities, for example, between Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans and other Southeast Asians. The gaps between different groups, blacks and Latinos included, trace back to factors that range from immigration status to access to early childhood education.

But even among some of the groups with lower educational attainment, there have been gains: For example, a recent Migration Policy Institute report found that second-generation Latinas are enrolling in college at a rate of 46 percent, not far behind non-Latina white peers. Similarly, male Latinos are enrolled at a rate of 37 percent, not far behind white men. Overall, though, second-generation Latinos’ degree completion rate still falls behind that of white peers, with family finances, the need to work, and in some cases immigration status playing a role.

3) There will be more native-born U.S. citizen minorities eligible to vote

And they will continue to be up for grabs, to a point. Where second- and third-generation votes fall depends on which group we’re talking about, as does how many of these potential voters show up at the polls. So far, as minorities in California go, black voters are more likely to turn out in proportion to their share of the population, but Latinos and Asians are still underrepresented in voter turnout, according to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California.

But there have been slight gains, and more can be expected as native-born children of immigrants come of age. How might they vote? Let’s take a look at what the Pew Hispanic Center reported on Latino voters by generation earlier this year. In a nutshell, the native-born are more likely to consider themselves liberal, although there are shades of gray going into the third. From the report:

Foreign-born Hispanics are more likely than native-born Hispanics to describe their political views as conservative—35% versus 28%. Meanwhile, native-born Hispanics are more likely than immigrant Hispanics to describe their political views as “very liberal” or “liberal”—34% versus 27%.

Second- and third-generation Latino voters lean farther to the left than the first generation does on issues like abortion and gay rights, according to the Pew report. But while first-generation Latinos favor bigger government, the second and third generations lean successively to the right on this one, with a bigger share of each generation preferring smaller government.

4) There will be more interracial/interethnic families

As the European immigrants of a hundred years ago assimilated during the 20th century, rates of interethnic marriage among these different ethnic groups climbed toward mid-century, as the children of European immigrants “married out” into other groups.

The same has held true with today’s second-generation adult children of immigrants, a more racially diverse bunch than their mid-20th century predecessors. In 2006, a Migration Policy Institute analysis reported on how different generations of women in minority groups chose partners:

The low levels of intermarriage in the first generation are followed by higher levels of intermarriage in the second generation for all nonwhite women. Among Asians and Hispanics, the increase in levels of intermarriage continues into the third generation. For Asian and Hispanic women, then, the pattern fits the expectations generated by the “straight-line” assimilation theory, with steady increases in intermarriage across generations.

The picture differs for white women and black women. Levels of intermarriage among white women are relatively steady across generations, hovering around five percent. The steadiness can be attributed to the large numbers of whites in the American population — all else being equal, levels of intermarriage are always lowest among members of larger groups.

No surprise, then, that recent decades have brought a growing number of  interracial marriages, as reported by the Pew Hispanic Center this year. In 2010, the share of new marriages between spouses of different races or ethnicities stood at 15.1 percent; the overall share as far as existing marriages stood at 8.4 percent, an all-time high. In 1980, only three percent of all marriages and less than seven percent of new ones involved partners of different racial or ethnic groups.

Chances are that today’s majority-minority babies will continue the trend. What will their second-generation nation look like? Los Angeles Magazine’s April cover on race and the new face of L.A. may have been a few years overdue in a polyglot town like this one, but the cover models are a pretty good indication.

FILED UNDER: 2010 Census, Census, Minority-majority
May 17, 2012 | 9:46 AM | By

In the news this morning: Minority babies become a majority, violations alleged at detention centers, AL law amended, more

Census: Minority babies are now majority in United States – Washington Post It’s official: For the first time in the U.S., a majority of the nation’s babies are minorities. Census estimates show that 50.4 percent of children who were less than a year old last year were either Latino, black, Asian or members of other minority groups. The tipping point reportedly came in July 2010.

Immigration: Human rights violations alleged at detention centers – Los Angeles Times A new report from the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that immigrant detainees “are suffering from a ‘systemic violation … of civil and human rights’ during their confinement in ‘substandard’ federal immigration detention facilities,” including in one Georgia facility considered the largest of its kind in the U.S.

Report: Female farmworkers suffer sex abuse – Miami Herald A new report suggests that female immigrant farmworkers are routinely exposed to sexual harassment and assault; their immigration status is a factor in why these incidents aren’t often reported.

Ala. amends immigration law – Politico The modifications to Alabama’s anti-illegal immigration law, deemed the nation’s strictest, include a change requiring Homeland Security officials to post a list of undocumented immigrants who appeared in court for a state law violation, even if they are not convicted. Still in place is a provision requiring police to check for immigration status.

Court to review request of illegal immigrant to practice law – Los Angeles Times The California Supreme Court is weighing the case of Sergio C. Garcia, who was brought to the U.S. as an infant. Garcia was certified by the state bar after passing requisite tests, but he is is undocumented, which presents a legal conflict.

May 16, 2012 | 5:01 PM | By

Work permits and auctions: A look at two new proposals for granting work visas to immigrants

Photo by unsure shot/Flickr (Creative Commons)

There are a couple of new proposals for granting work visas to foreign workers, one of them legislative, the other a private proposal put together by an economist. They couldn’t be more different, but the one thing they have in common is that they are drawing their share of controversy, as might be expected in this economy. Here are some details on both.

1) The private proposal: It’s a novel one. Commissioned by a think tank to come up with an immigration reform plan, UC Davis economist Giovanni Peri has proposed a system that would have employers competing in a quarterly electronic auction for work permits. In essence, the permits to hire foreign workers would go to those most willing to pay, with bids starting at $7,000 for high-skilled workers, less for lower-skilled seasonal workers. But in case it sounds like indentured servitude, visa holders would be allowed to change jobs, according to the plan.

The idea would be to replace the current system of quotas, long waits and lotteries, with eventual plans to expand the auction system while restricting the family-sponsored visa system. At the same time, workers who stay could eventually apply for legal resident status. From the proposal:

Not only does the U.S. system fail to identify immigrants with skills needed in today’s economy, it also fails to respond to changes in those needs with economic circumstances. The system’s numerical limits and quotas are arbitrarily fixed and infrequently changed. Labor market conditions have no effect on the number of employment-based visas: when times are good, growth robust, and the needs of American businesses greatest, no visas are added, and when times are tough and growth slower, visas are not reduced (nor is their price adjusted).

When temporary immigrants do come to work, they often have little incentive to invest, assimilate, and sink roots in the United States because of a painful disconnect between temporary work visas and the possibility of a permanent work visa.

The paper describing the plan is an interesting read. The entire proposal can be viewed here.

2) The legislative proposal: Applying only to California, it’s called the California Agricultural Jobs and Industry Stabilization Act. Introduced by Democratic Assembly member Manuel Perez, whose district lies in California’s agricultural southeast, the measure proposes granting work permits to tens of thousands of undocumented workers already employed in agriculture and service jobs, allowing them to live here legally. In a strapped state economy, that it has managed to clear an Assembly committee is impressive, but its level of support is mixed.

From a legislative analysis of the bill, which “requires the Employment Development Department (EDD) to issue permits authorizing an undocumented person who meets specified criteria to reside and work as an employee in the state.”

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: California Agricultural Jobs and Industry Stabilization Act, Giovanni Peri, Manuel Perez, UC Davis
May 16, 2012 | 3:25 PM | By

On California as older, less crowded, more second-generation – and still a great place to be

California’s population growth over the next few decades isn’t going to be as big as once predicted, according to one recent projection from the University of Southern California. In a nutshell, the state will become older, increasingly second-generation, and less crowded than previously thought. And while the news can be spun any number of ways, it’s not necessarily bad.

So argues the report’s author, USC demographer Dowell Myers, in a piece this week on the Zócalo Public Square site. Myers takes on the political “doomsday narrative,” as he calls it, of residents and businesses leaving for other states. He demystifies the myth of the great California exodus, placing it in context of the massive population growth that occurred in the state during the 1980s. The best measure of California’s enduring appeal, he writes, is that a majority of its native sons and daughters are staying put. And many of these happen to be children of immigrants. Myers writes:


In reality, the demographic picture in California is brighter than it has been in decades, provided we meet one key challenge. New studies show that the state’s immigrants have settled in and the growth in the workforce now rides on the skills of homegrown Californians, many the children of immigrants.

The main threat in California isn’t about business climate or the types of homes being built. It is about the defunding of higher education and the failure to invest in the next generation of workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers. If there is any doubt about California’s future—and this is no crying wolf—that is the demographic challenge to keep your eyes on.

Read more at: zocalopublicsquare.org

May 16, 2012 | 11:44 AM | By

Love, L.A. style: A look behind the rise in interracial/interethnic relationships

Photo by ✭Lou✭/Flickr (Creative Commons)

We’ve all seen the statistics and the stories by now: Interracial and interethnic relationships and families are on the rise, the product of an increasingly multicultural United States.

A Pew Research Center report last February charted a growing number of  interracial marriages, with the share of new marriages between spouses of different races or ethnicities having gone up to 15.1 % in 2010. The overall share of existing interracial or inter-ethnic marriages stands at 8.4 percent, an all-time high. This is far cry from 1980, when only three percent of all marriages and less than seven percent of new ones involved partners of different racial or ethnic groups.

In Los Angeles, mixed ethnicity couples are pretty much the norm; in the West overall, one in five newlyweds (22 percent) married someone of a different race or ethnicity between 2008 and 2010, far above the norm in other regions.

But what is this like in practice, behind closed doors as couples from different ethnic and racial backgrounds navigate the daily challenges of life and family? Even in the most idyllic of pairings in this most polyglot of cities, as years go by, cultural differences are bound to crop up, whether these involve child rearing, in-laws, religion, or the different ways in which we communicate.

On Thursday, May 31, I’ll be moderating a community forum at KPCC in which four racially and ethnically blended couples will share their own experiences, and which will most likely include a bit of sharing ( and venting, perhaps) from couples in the audience, too.

Admission to the event at KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum is free, but an RSVP is required. Sign up here.

May 16, 2012 | 8:44 AM | By

In the news this morning: Senate being sued over Dream Act filibuster, immigrants and health policy, CA bill proposes work permits, more

Immigrant activists sue U.S. Senate over Dream Act – Orange County Register A group of undocumented college graduates and an advocacy group announced yesterday that they are suing the U.S. Senate, challenging the constitutionality of the Senate filibuster rule that prevented passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act in 2010.

Latino Voter Apathy In A Border Town – Fronteras Desk Nogales, Arizona is 90 percent Latino and had 29 percent voter turnout in the 2010 midterm elections. Some residents are legal permanent residents who can’t vote; others say they’re just too busy.

Two charged with helping to smuggle migrants to Canada aboard ship – Vancouver Sun Two people have been charged with helping smuggle a ship full of Tamil migrants into Canada; the ship landed off Victoria, B.C. almost two years ago.

Immigration status is a health policy challenge – Politico In 2014, when core provisions of the Affordable Care Act go into effect, legal U.S. residents will be able to participate in the health coverage options. But undocumented immigrants are excluded from the law, and will make up a large number of the remaining uninsured.

California bill would grant work permits to tens of thousands of undocumented workers – Southern California Public Radio A California bill proposes granting state work permits to tens of thousands of undocumented workers, people who are already working agriculture and service jobs. Adding to the controversy is the state budget crisis and unemployment.

May 15, 2012 | 6:06 PM | By

An economist’s proposal for immigration reform: Auctioning work permits to companies

A bit of news I linked to earlier is worth a second mention: A novel approach to issuing work permits, the brainchild of a UC Davis economist. Giovanni Peri is suggesting that U.S. companies compete in a quarterly electronic auction, with companies bidding to buy visas for workers. It would replace what is now a quota system with long waiting lists and lotteries.

The project is affiliated with the Brookings Institution; Peri, who was commissioned by a group called The Hamilton Project to develop the plan, told the San Jose Mercury-News that it “would certainly generate more awareness and clarity on the economic value of immigrants and immigration.” From the piece, which contains a link to the full proposal introduced today:

Each auctioned permit would be tied to a temporary visa. Visa-holders would be free to move from one job to another, making it harder for hiring companies to exploit them. Those who remain employed could later apply for permanent residency.

Work permit bids would start at a minimum $7,000 for high-skilled workers and $1,000 for lower-skilled seasonal jobs. Higher demand for workers could push employers’ bid prices higher, compelling Congress to make more visas available.

Revenue from the auction would be channeled to the federal government and to state and local agencies that provide public education and other services to immigrant families.

Read more at: www.mercurynews.com

May 15, 2012 | 2:24 PM | By

Carlos Fuentes on immigration, circa 2006

Photo by Alfredo Estrella/AFP/GettyImages

Carlos Fuentes during a tribute to Mexican writer and anthropologist Fernando Benitez (1912-2000) at the Fine Arts Palace in Mexico City, December 18, 2011

One of the many things that celebrated Mexican writer and diplomat Carlos Fuentes was outspoken about was immigration, including the U.S. labor market’s demand for it.

Fuentes, who died today at 83, was best known as a novelist; his 1962 novel “The Death of Artemio Cruz,” about the loss of idealism following the Mexican revolution, established his legacy as a leading political writer and thinker. He was also a columnist and political analyst, among other things, and served in Mexico’s foreign service as ambassador to England and France.

His foreign policy background made him a great interview on complex issues like immigration, a topic he covered in several interviews during recent years. He was critical of U.S. immigration policies, all the while recognizing the demand for cheap labor that helped lure migrants here.

In  2006, Fuentes was the subject of a multimedia interview with the Academy of Achievement, an educational nonprofit that collects interviews with and the stories of an impressive array of luminaries. Several videos are scattered throughout the Q&A, in which Fuentes discusses Mexican immigration to the U.S. What he said then resonates now, as migration from Mexico has dwindled in recent years, while some states have passed strict anti-illegal immigration laws that have left farmers in short supply of immigrant workers. From the Q&A:

There is a question that’s very much at issue in the United States today. Everyone’s talking about the immigration issue and what to do about our border with Mexico. We’d love to hear your views about that.

Carlos Fuentes: Listen, there are two sides to that. One is the fact that the United States needs workers. They happen to be Mexican workers because that’s the neighboring country. But let us imagine that Mexico had full employment one day. The workers would still be needed. Who would pick the fruit? Who would cook? Who would serve at tables? Who would take care of the children? Who would drive the buses? Who would do the catering and work in the hotels? You have to get them from somewhere. Or generate those jobs for Americans who don’t want to take them, obviously. So you are profiting from our labor.

And this, from the transcript of one of the videos:

In Mexico, we have a duty as well, and it is to provide labor to these workers. I wish they had never left Mexico. In the future, I want them to stay in Mexico. Mexico is a deeply divided country — 50 percent of the population of 100 million is poor. There should be jobs waiting for them. There are not. They have to come to the United States. We should provide jobs for 50 million Mexicans and help us step out of poverty. We’re still mired in poverty in Mexico. So I wish we had the offer of these jobs.

If we had a Franklin Roosevelt, he would find a way to give jobs to the 50 million, who would not migrate. But then that would be your problem: Where are your workers coming from?

Fuentes hit a similar note in this New York Times interview, also in 2006, when people were turning out to immigration reform rallies in record numbers. The rallies were fueled in part by opposition to a House immigration enforcement bill at the time known as HR 4437, otherwise known as the “Sensenbrenner bill” for its sponsor, Wisconsin GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner. From the interview with Fuentes:

What do you make of the current furor over immigration in this country?

The Sensenbrenner bill is a folly. It does not take into account the needs of the American work force. You would pay heavily for the absence of these immigrants. The country would come to a standstill. You wouldn’t have people driving buses, tending restaurants, taking care of gardens and taking care of babies. You wouldn’t have people being enterprising.

Six years later, as farmers in states like Georgia and Alabama struggle with how they’ll get their crops picked in the fall, his words sound somewhat prophetic.

FILED UNDER: Academy of Achievement, Carlos Fuentes, Immigrant labor