The Integration of Immigrant Families in the United States

THE URBAN INSTITUTEThe Integration ofImmigrant Families Inthe United States THE INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANT FAMILIESIN THE UNITED STATESMichael FixWendy ZimmermannJeffrey S. PasselTHE URBAN INSTITUTEJuly 2001Another version of this paper will be published in The Citizen's Commission for Civil Rights Biennial Report onFederal Civil Rights and Enforcement, forthcoming 2001. Earlier versions of this paper were presented in LosAngeles, California at the symposium of the Building the New American Community Project sponsored by the U.S.Office of Refugee Resettlement and in Miami, Florida at the conference Strengthening Immigrant Families andAmerican Communities: Strategies for a New Century sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The authorswould like to express their appreciation to Laureen Laglagaron for her expert assistance.Support for the research and writing of this report was provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford iiFoundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Opinions expressedare those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Urban Institute or any of its sponsors. iiiTable of ContentsI. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1II. WHY DISCUSS THE INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANT FAMILIES?............................3Continuing mismatch between immigration and immigrant policies.........................................3Averting unintended consequences.............................................................................................3Population dispersal....................................................................................................................4Shifting political climate.............................................................................................................4Strong but faltering economy......................................................................................................5Deeper knowledge base...............................................................................................................5Policy targets: PRWORA and ESEA reauthorizations................................................................5III. HOW IS THE IMMIGRANT FAMILY CHANGING?.......................................................7High flows...................................................................................................................................8Dispersal......................................................................................................................................9Changing origins and rapid rise in Mexican migration............................................................11Increased share of undocumented.............................................................................................12Large share of immigrants in families......................................................................................15Predominance of mixed status families....................................................................................15IV. HOW WELL ARE IMMIGRANT FAMILIES FARING?...............................................18Change across generations.......................................................................................................19Language acquisition among school age children....................................................................21Household income growth.........................................................................................................21Benefitting from the boom economy.........................................................................................22Increased naturalizations..........................................................................................................23Increased poverty among school-age children..........................................................................26Segregation of LEPs in schools.................................................................................................27High drop out rates...................................................................................................................28High but rapidly falling rates of welfare use.............................................................................28Rising uninsurance rates...........................................................................................................31V. INTEGRATION POLICY: SELECTED CONCEPTUAL AND DESIGN ISSUES..........32Setting expectations for immigrant family integration.............................................................32Determining the reach of antidiscrimination principles............................................................33Limiting immigrant families’ support obligations.....................................................................35Apportioning intergovernmental roles and responsibil