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4 Political and Civic Dimensions of Immigrant Integration
Pages 159-206

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From page 159...
... , including engagement in a globalized world. Civic and political integration must be understood at three levels.
From page 160...
... At a third level of analysis, civic integration is affected by the extent to which the political and civic institutions of the United States influence who becomes engaged and who remains on the sidelines of the nation's civic and political life. This perspective suggests that barriers to and inequalities in civic and political integration can be mitigated by partnerships among the voluntary sector, civil society, community-based organizations, the business sector, and government.
From page 161...
... Using American Community Survey data, it is estimated that in 2013, 17.4 million children under the age of 18 (25% of all children in the United States) had at least one foreign-born parent.
From page 162...
... 649) decision did, however, uphold the birthright citizenship of children born in the United States to Asian immigrant parents ineligible for naturalization.
From page 163...
... population.10 The proportions of naturalized citizens and noncitizens in the population today almost exactly mirror the percentages in 1920, as shown in Figure 4-1, although the number of immigrants is much higher now. After of a citizen parent currently derives citizenship from their parent if they are under the age of 18.
From page 164...
... ; American Community Survey 2010, 2013. Figure 4-2 fixed image immigration was curtailed in the 1920s and as the foreign-born population aged, the level of citizenship among the immigrant population increased, but the share of naturalized citizens and noncitizens in the general population declined.
From page 165...
... There is, however, evidence of a recent uptick in the level of citizenship. Estimates by the Office of Immigration Statistics of the immigrant population eligible for naturalization -- adjusting for those who are not legal permanent residents or who have not met the 5-year residency requirement -- suggest that in 2002, 50 percent of eligible immigrants held U.S.
From page 166...
... SOURCE: Data from Office of Immigration Statistics "Estimates of the Legal Permanent Resident Population," for 2002 through 2012 (2005 missing)
From page 167...
... . A survey of immigrant women born in Latin American, Asian, African, and Arab countries found that 84 percent of respondents wanted to be a U.S.
From page 168...
... Other data hint that long-time noncitizens are naturalizing at increasing rates. In 2002, only 46.5 percent of immigrants eligible for citizenship who had lived in the United States for at least 12 years were naturalized citizens; in 2012, the level of citizenship among these long-term residents had increased to 58 percent.15 Length of residency also captures other integration processes.
From page 169...
... 19 Lawful permanent residents must renew their "green cards" every 10 years by filing an I-90 form. From 1994 to 2007, the N-400 fee rose from $95 to $595, an increase of 626 percent; the fee for the I-90 rose from $75 to $290, or an increase of 387 percent (Pastor et al., 2013, p.
From page 170...
... However, the effects of these potential changes are not yet known. Price sensitivity raises important questions over inequities in civic and political integration.
From page 171...
... . A different analysis, using more recent 2011 American Community Survey data, suggests a similar story of growing educational inequality.
From page 172...
... An analysis of 1980 Decennial Census data underscored the significant influence of veteran status on citizenship acquisition (Yang, 1994) ; more recent research estimated that veteran status is associated with a 13 percentage point increase in the probability of naturalization among men and an 8 percentage point increase for women (Chiswick and Miller, 2008, p.
From page 173...
... For 2011, the Office of Immigration Statistics estimated that 31.1 percent of all LPRs eligible for naturalization were born in Mexico. But data on successful naturalization applications indicate that only 13.7 percent of immigrants receiving U.S.
From page 174...
... calculated a 2 to 13 percentage point increase in naturalization of immigrants from India following creation of the "Overseas Citizenship of India" status in 2005. Dual citizenship laws may also lead to racial differences in naturalization rates by increasing the probability of naturalization for Latino and Asian immigrants, but it might not do the same for non-Hispanic white or black immigrants, holding other factors constant (Logan et al., 2012)
From page 175...
... Missing from these accounts is the important role played by family and friends; the immigrant community; nonprofit organizations; and other groups including for-profit businesses, employers, and unions in encouraging and helping immigrants become citizens and thereby fostering civic and political integration. When asked to elaborate on their path to citizenship, immigrants -- especially those who face the highest barriers to naturalization -- often tell stories of how a child, family member, or local nonprofit organization helped them to study for the language or civics exam and how a community social service provider, a refugee resettlement agency or a for-profit 28 The full text of the oath can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/naturalizationtest/naturalization-oath-allegiance-united-states-america [October 2015]
From page 176...
... . In one targeted effort, the Open Society Institute received $50 million from philanthropist George Soros to facilitate citizenship, distributing grants through the Emma Lazarus Fund to organizations, such as the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Council of Jewish Federations, National Council of La Raza, and International Rescue Committee.
From page 177...
... citizenship." A 2007 analysis concluded that with a budget of $3 million, the Office of Citizenship had produced useful informational products (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., 2007, p.
From page 178...
... . States with lower political participation barriers have higher naturalization rates, perhaps because a more open institutional environment signals that civic and political engagement is encouraged and valued (Jones-Correa, 2001b)
From page 179...
... . Thus immigrants who are not citizens -- and indeed, not to have legal status -- may nonetheless feel American (Bloemraad, 2013)
From page 180...
... Given some evidence linking naturalization with better labor market outcomes, and current laws preventing noncitizens from voting or running for office, lack of citizenship also implicates weaker economic and political integration. A bright spot in this mixed picture is civic integration through the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees the birthright of citizenship to virtually everyone born in the United States, regardless of origins or parents' legal status.
From page 181...
... , but their systematic effects on voting among naturalized citizens have not yet been examined (although a prior literature suggests that stricter registration rules may dampen voting among naturalized citizens, see Jones-Correa, 2001b) .34 The United States is also unlike most other advanced, industrialized democracies in that it has a comparatively weak party system with candidate-centered elections and a far greater number of offices for election, ranging from 34 There is some debate over the disproportionate impact of these laws on turnout among Latinos and Asian Americans (Cobb et al., 2012)
From page 182...
... Analysis of midterm election years revealed voting gaps between foreign-born and native-born citizens even greater than the gaps found in presidential election years.36 Naturalized citizens are also much less likely than second or third generation citizens to report voting regularly in local elections such as for a mayor or school board. There are, however, some exceptions to generational voting patterns by race and ethnicity, according to the panel's analysis.
From page 183...
... . What accounts for lower voting participation of naturalized citizens?
From page 184...
... . Data from other surveys are largely consistent with the above results from the November 2013 CPS Civic Engagement Supplement in finding that political participation is higher among naturalized citizens than among noncitizens (Leal, 2002; Martinez, 2005)
From page 185...
... and native-born Latinos in terms of attending public meetings or protests. Similarly, the 2008 National Asian American Survey found significant differences in political participation by immigrant generation, with first generation immigrants less likely than higher generations to make campaign contributions, discuss politics with family and friends, and discuss politics online.44 This lower level of participation among first generation immigrants occurred whether the analysis examined only naturalized citizens or all foreign-born adults in the survey, and even after controlling for education and household income.
From page 186...
... Indeed, one of the remarkable, early stories of representation among Asian immigrants is that of Dalip Singh Saund, who campaigned for Indians to qualify for naturalization in the 1940s, won elected office just a year after being granted citizenship, and in 1957 was the first Asian American elected to Congress.47 At the same time, there are limits in the U.S. Constitution to immigrant representation.
From page 187...
... born in Mexico; and Norma Torres (D-CA) born in Guatemala.49 Thus, the percentage of naturalized citizens in Congress (1 percent)
From page 188...
... Despite comparatively low participation rates and very low rates of proportional representation, certain members of Congress might still be responsive to immigrant voters due to the profile of residents in their districts. Elected officials from districts with a high proportion of naturalized citizens may be likely more supportive of initiatives deemed important to immigrants, such as more expansive immigration policy.
From page 189...
... To distinguish between the direct political power of noncitizens versus "representation by proxy" through citizens holding similar preferences, the panel controlled for the proportion of naturalized citizens in the district.51 The panel's examination of House votes on three enforcement-related bills in 2006 and the American DREAM Act legislation in 2010 indicates that the share of noncitizens in the district is significantly related to House votes at the bivariate level, and in a direction that suggests a member of congress with more noncitizens in his or her district is less likely to vote for restrictive legislation, and more likely to vote for the American DREAM Act.52 Even after controlling for a member's party and the naturalized share of the electorate, the noncitizen share of the district is still important in explaining the final vote on enforcement-oriented HR 4437 in 2006 and the final vote on the American DREAM Act in 2010. There is, however, a partisan split in the importance of noncitizens in the electorate.
From page 190...
... CIVIC VOLUNTEERISM AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS While political acts constitute a significant aspect of civic engagement in American society, it is also important to examine the ways that immigrants are involved in their communities more generally, through acts of volunteerism and social participation. Studies of immigrant civic participation have drawn attention to a wide array of formal and informal institutions, such as indigenous dance groups, hometown associations, mutual assistance groups, and family or clan networks (de Graauw, 2015; CorderoGuzman, 2005; Ramakrishnan and Bloemraad, 2008, Ramakrishnan and Viramontes, 2010; Terriquez, 2011; Wong, 2006)
From page 191...
... . These gaps in participation were more marked than racial gaps in volunteerism, and also showed that naturalized citizens were much more likely to be civically involved through community organizations than those who were not U.S.
From page 192...
... The community group Help Save Manassas worked with other civil society organizations at the national and local levels to convince the County Board of Supervisors to pass Resolution 07-609, directing police to inquire about the immigration status of anyone detained and to enter into a 287(g) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (Singer et al., 2009)
From page 193...
... . Research on the civic and organizational foundations of immigrants' integration is underdeveloped, but the evidence thus far suggests that civil society groups -- whether organized by immigrants or predominantly organized by native-born citizens who include immigrant members -- can facilitate integration.
From page 194...
... . The positive experience of private-public partnerships around refugee resettlement provides a template for successful engagement with civil society around immigrant integration.
From page 195...
... Especially if immigrant parents are noncitizens, or perhaps not even lawful permanent residents, immigrant-origin youth might be less likely to learn about, or take an interest in, American politics and civic life. Research on this topic is sparse, but available evidence suggests that the children of immigrants are no less likely -- and no more likely -- to engage in volunteer activities or to vote than similarly situated children of native-born parents, even in the case of undocumented parents (Callahn and Muller, 2013; Humphries et al., 2013; Terriquez and Kwon, 2014)
From page 196...
... . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION If the naturalization rate is the best marker of immigrants' political integration into the United States, then the research cited above indicates that there is reason for concern, despite slight increases in naturalization rates since 2000.
From page 197...
... . While civil society groups have historically been the backbone of grassroots integration efforts and continue to provide invaluable services in areas where there is established organizational presence, in new immigrant destinations a lack of engagement between civil society organizations and immigrants or immigrant organizations leaves a void in many communities.
From page 198...
... New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
From page 199...
... . Explaining the surge in citizenship ap plications in the 1990s: Lawful permanent residents in Texas.
From page 200...
... International Migration Review, 38, 732-746. Hardy-Fanta, C
From page 201...
... International Migration Review, 35, 997-1029. Jones-Correa, M
From page 202...
... International Migration Review, 46(3)
From page 203...
... International Migration Review, 352-371. Portes, A., Escobar, C., and Arana, R
From page 204...
... International Migration Review, 41(4)
From page 205...
... International Migration Review, 28(3)


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