Full Citation
Title: Immigrant Youth in the Silicon Valley: Together We Rise!
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2016
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Abstract: Silicon Valley, an area famous for technological innovation and affluence, ranks eighth in the nation in gross domestic product growth and third in per capita personal income.1 The area is also marked by severe disparities. Over one-third of workers earn low wages (defined as two-thirds of the county minimum wage).2 The average annual pay for a direct technology employee is five times the salary of a blue-collar contract industry worker, who earns less than the median rent in Santa Clara County.3 Black and Latino communities also face pronounced hiring barriers for higher paying, direct technology jobs.4 The immigrant community in Silicon Valley experiences low wages, a lack of access to affordable housing, limited access to health care, and a frequently discriminatory social and political environment.5 And for undocumented immigrant communities, these challenges are amplified. Eight percent of the 2.5 million residents in Silicon Valley are undocumented.6 Presently, 14% of the half a million young people (18-32) in Silicon Valley are undocumented. They are a core part of the daily economic life of the valley but encounter a singular set of economic and social challenges. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided two-year work permits and relief from deportations for youth who entered the country before their sixteenth birthdays and before June 2007, reduced the challenges for some of these young people. But many, particularly those who are not DACA-eligible or may not have the financial and social capital to fully utilize its benefits, are still highly and persistently vulnerable.7 This report intends to understand the experience of undocumented immigrant youth (including DACA recipients) in the Silicon Valley, based on census data and interviews with undocumented youth. Additionally, the report suggests tangible recommendations by which the Silicon Valley can enhance its support of undocumented immigrant youth.
Url: https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UCLA_SILICON_VALLEY_REPORT_WEB_REV5-1.pdf
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Authors: Wong, Kent; De Leon, Mario; Waheed, Saba; Jimenez, Alejandro; Acosta, Alejandra; Valenta, Blake; Arceo, Mariela; Avalos, Cesar; Ayala, Carmen; Canas, Grisell; Gutierrez, Jasmin; Gutierrez, Leonardo; Valdez, Rosamia Morales; Real, Marypaz; Sibrian, Astrid Regalado
Publisher: UCLA Labor Center
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Migration and Immigration, Other
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