Full Citation
Title: U.S. Immigrant Workers and Families: Demographics, Labor Market Participation, and Children
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2018
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Abstract: This article assesses the impact of rapid recent immigration on the nation's demographics,laborforce and public schools.' Recent immigration flows have exceeded those in any decade in the nation's history, with an estimatedfifteen million immigrantsenteringthe country during the 1990s. The number of immigrants passed thirty-five million in 2005, and theirshare of the U.S. populationmore than doubledfrom less than 5% in 1970 to over 12% in 2005. A significant and growing share of all immigrants - now at least 30% - are unauthorized, creating complexities for the labor market, socialfabric, and political environment of the United States. The vast majority of immigrants come to the United States for work, and unauthorized men are the most likely to work-their employment rate exceeds 90%.2 Immigrants comprise one seventh of all U.S. workers, but almost a quarter of low-wage workers and 44% of workers without a high school education. Immigrants fill important niches in industries such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing, but their relatively low educational attainment and limited English skills present barriers to their economic mobility. This aside, there are some small groups of immigrants, who are more highly educated than U.S.-born natives and do better than natives in the workforce.The number of children with immigrant parents is also rising. By 2005, one-fifth of all U.S. children and one quarter of low-income children were children of immigrants. Many children of immigrants begin school at a disadvantage due to their low incomes, lack of English proficiency, and the low educational attainment of their parents. The federal No ChildLeft BehindAct provides incentives for schools to focus on the education of immigrants' children because the Act mandates schools improve test score averages for Hispanic, black, low-income and limited English proficient children.
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Authors: Capps, Randy
Periodical (Full): Virginia Journal of Social Policy& the Law
Issue:
Volume: 14
Pages: 37
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Migration and Immigration
Countries: United States