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The New North Carolinians: The Economic Impact of the Hispanic and Immigrant Population in North Carolina
Abstract
Over the last several decades, the movement of people into North Carolina has been so large and so pervasive that we call them, collectively, the “new” North Carolinians. Some of the new North Carolinians are immigrants, but most are “domestic imports.” The new North Carolinians are changing the character of the state’s population but even as they do so, the new North Carolinians often reaffirm and strengthen traditional North Carolina ways of life. This paper reviews the context in which the migration has taken place, describes the new North Carolinians, assesses their impact on the state’s economy, and explores policy options for long-term labor supply.
... Rapid Latino growth has sometimes disrupted the established racial order, with Latinos seen as ''leapfrogging'' past African American workers or, at minimum, increasing competition for low-wage jobs (Marrow, 2011; Parisi et al., 2011; Rich and Miranda, 2005; Swarns, 2006a; Rocha and Easterbrook, 2006). Of course, such worries may be unfounded if economic growth and expanding employment opportunities have been sufficiently large to absorb recent in-migrants, if Latino newcomers and resident minorities occupy different occupational niches in local labor markets, or if rapid population growth has significant economic multiplier effects (e.g., generating new demands for goods and services) that benefit most workers, including African Americans (Kasarda and Johnson, 2006; Smith and Edmonston, 1997; Turner, 2014). Some qualitative investigations have touched on these issues (for a review, see Waters et al., 2014). ...
... They may also have greater access to the social safety net and the protection from poverty that it affords. Finally, a growing Latino population may also benefit African Americans by lowering consumer costs or creating new demands for services in sectors where they are employed (see Kasarda and Johnson, 2006; Lim, 2001; Smith and Edmonston, 1997). To summarize, the rapid in-migration of Latino workers is often viewed as a potential threat to the economic circumstances of African Americans in fast-growing Latino communities. ...
The geographic diffusion of Latinos from immigrant gateways to newly-emerging rural destinations is one of the most significant recent trends in U.S. population redistribution. Yet, few studies have explored how Latinos have fared in new destinations, and even fewer have examined economic implications for other minority workers and their families. We use county-level data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey to compare the changing economic circumstances (e.g., employment and unemployment, poverty, income, and homeownership) of Latinos and African Americans in new Latino boomtowns. We also evaluate the comparative economic trajectories of Latinos in new destinations and established gateways. During the 1990s, new rural destinations provided clear economic benefits to Latinos, even surpassing African Americans on some economic indicators. The 2000s, however, ushered in higher rates of Latino poverty; the economic circumstances of Latinos also deteriorated more rapidly in new vis-à-vis traditional destinations. By 2010, individual and family poverty rates in new destinations were significantly higher among Latinos than African Americans, despite higher labor force participation and lower levels of unemployment. Difference-in-difference models demonstrate that in both the 1990s and 2000s, economic trajectories of African Americans in new Latino destinations largely mirrored those observed in places without large Latino influxes. Any economic benefits for Latinos in new rural destinations thus have not come at the expense of African Americans.
Published by Elsevier Inc.
... A 2007 study found that immigration had ''a small but positive net fiscal impact on the Arkansas budget'' (Capps et al. 2007, p 5), although that number was likely to change as more working-age immigrants in the state had children. In North Carolina, a 2006 analysis found a small net cost per Hispanic resident but also the likelihood that their economic contribution to the state economy would double by 2009 (Kasarda and Johnson 2006). In this way, claims about the costs of immigration are typically made in the absence of reliable data. ...
This article examines the ways that the figure of the immigrant is understood and mobilized in political discourses and social movements surrounding immigration in the South. Drawing on both immigrant-related movements and scholarly discussions of immigration to the South, it interrogates how different political movements and discourses envision and act upon “the Latino immigrant” in and across southern locales. To make sense of these different representations, the article offers a typology that focuses on discourses of (1) shared humanity in immigrants-rights organizations, (2) shared racial discrimination in black-brown coalitions, (3) shared class oppression in worker-justice movements, and (4) immigrant difference in anti-immigration legislation. Analyzing how each approach represents “the immigrant,” the article reflects on the ways that these movements and discourses create sameness and difference between long-term residents and immigrants, and the implications of these relationships for a wider politics of immigrant inclusion across the U.S.
... Latino studies at UNC also holds potential for the work it can do with Latino/as in southern locales. Building on a tradition of applied research in studies of Latino migration to the South (Torres 2000; Atiles and Bohon 2002; Kasarda and Johnson 2006), this program, as DeGuzmán stresses, can link departments across the UNC campus, campuses across North Carolina, and UNC and Chapel Hill's broader Latino community , in efforts to understand Latino experiences . Through its strong connection to the humanities, the program can also add a perspective that, to date, has been missing in discussions of Latino/as in the South (c.f., Villatoro 1998 Villatoro , 2001). ...
By the time this commentary is in print, 2010 census figures will have been released; and the trend of immigrant, especially Latino, settlement in southern U.S. cities and towns will have been an identifiable aspect of the geography of immigration to the U.S. for a decade, if not longer. With nearly fifteen years of published research on the topic (Cravey 1997, 2003; Murphy et al. 2001; Selby et al. 2001; Bankston et al. 2003; Fink 2003; Yarbrough 2003; Odem 2004; Winders 2005; Smith and Furuseth 2006; Striffler 2007; Shultz 2008; Smith and Winders 2008; Ansley and Shefner 2009), the broad features of Latino migration to the South are well established, as are the driving forces behind it (reviewed again in this issue by Krista Perreira). The Nuevo South has become a sustained topic in geography, anthropology, sociology, political science, and other fields associated with the study of immigration (Hernandez-Leon and Zuniga 2000; Atiles and Bohon 2003; Erwin 2003; Waters and Jiménez 2005; Mc-Clain et al. 2006; Benson 2008) and is an emerging topic in additional areas like Latino studies.
Within academic and journalistic writings, accounts of Latino population growth in southern locales—and the political, economic, and cultural dynamics associated with it—are no longer novel. Large and small southern communities, as well as some southern states, have immigration task forces and offices charged with finding ways to meet the needs of a growing immigrant community or, at minimum, to identify those needs. Many southern locales have Spanish-language business districts that range in size from a few blocks to large urban corridors, and grocery stores and Wal-Marts across the region display ‘Hispanic’ foods and Spanish-language advertising. Spanish-language newspapers, some with local content, are not hard to find; and the radio dial, especially on AM, can quickly find a Latino station in much of the South. Southern counties were some of the earliest adopters of 287(g) programs in a post-9/11 era, and southern states have led the way in the latest round of restrictive state- and local-level legislation vis-à-vis undocumented immigrants (Winders 2007).
For all these reasons, the New South (Owen 2004; Kocchar et al. 2005; Smith and Furuseth 2006), the Nuevo New South (Fink 2003), or the New Latino South (Smith 2001; Wainer 2004) has been mapped, or at least traced, in recent years. Geographers like Altha Cravey (1997, 2003) and Karen Johnson-Webb (2002, 2003; Johnson-Webb and Johnson 1996) provided some of the earliest scholarship on this topic. Largely because of these initial works, more recent research on Latino migration to the South no longer needs to justify its relevance or convince readers that Latino/as are impacting the region’s social, cultural, political, and economic practices. Instead, as this special issue so clearly shows, research on Latino migration to the South can now push in new directions. These new directions, I suggest, enable not only richer understandings of the local and regional transformations brought about by Latino migration to the South but also more productive ways to smooth the knots in the increasingly entangled lives of southern residents, new and old.
In this concluding commentary, I draw attention to three ways that the authors in this issue highlight new directions in both the Nuevo South and studies of it. First, these works demonstrate the range of responses to Latino settlement in the South, from universities (DeGuzmán) to longterm residents (Popke) to Latino residents themselves (Cuadros). Understanding these responses, and the individual and structural forces behind them, is key to understanding not only how the growth of Latino communities transforms southern locales but also, as Paul Cuadros’s article illustrates, how living in southern locales transforms Latino communities themselves. Second, these writings pay close attention to the connections between Latino migration and cultural transformations in the South. Whether discussing the role of the humanities in understanding Latino settlement in the region (DeGuzmán), the role of art in conveying migrant experiences in the South (Valdivia et al.), or the role of migration itself in transforming gender performances in North Carolina’s Latino communities (Cuadros), these authors provide insight into how the South...
... If in North Carolina NAFTA meant the decimation of certain manufacturing jobs (e.g., textiles), in Mexico it meant the privatization of rural lands (ejidos) and the wholesale destruction of smallholder and peasant agricultural production , forcing hundreds of thousands of people off of their lands and into the migration trajectories that today link these two places. Latinos do most of the menial agricultural tasks in North Carolina today and during the 1990s they also began to settle in cities where they were recruited into construction, landscaping, restaurant, and janitorial work (Kasarda and Johnson 2006; Gill 2010). Guestworker visas such as H2A and H2B allowed some migrants to cross the international border and arrive in the state with official permission, although many more migrants came to the state without official permission. ...
At Johnny’s Café on West Main Street in Carrboro, North Carolina, customers savor gourmet coffee with fresh pastries. Known for more than two decades as Johnny’s Sporting Goods, the small corner market stocked fishing tackle in a “down home” atmosphere until 2008 when Johnny sold the store. The new owners cultivate a well-heeled clientele who play speed bingo, enjoy live music, and simply “hang out with the neighbors.” Customers who enter through the door on the opposite side of the building, however, immediately hear colloquial Spanish and come face-to-face with boxes of onions, jalepeños, cilantro and a display of brightly colored 5 phone cards such as Te Cuento; Boss Carolina; Bang! D.F.; Sigo Siendo El Rey; and Red Carolina, used for calling throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Separated by a single door and a wall, this parallel world is Tienda Rosita, a Mexican family business supplying fresh produce to a growing Latina/o working-class clientele in the area. Here you can buy 10 limes for a dollar, and the owners take pride in bringing wholesale produce from the farmers’ market in Raleigh. On weekend evenings, a taco truck parks in front of Tienda Rosita, offering a range of taquería fare such as tacos, consomé, and tamales. In 2010, the family that had managed Tienda Rosita for over ten years left without notice.
Police doused students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with pepper spray and fired tasers into the air in 2009 in response to a noisy protest of an event that students considered thinly-veiled white supremacy. Tom Tancredo, a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, was invited by “Youth for Western Civilization” to speak on why public universities should not allow the children of undocumented Latina/o migrants to enroll and pay instate tuition. Many of these children have lived the majority of their lives in the United States and view it as home, yet they are mostly excluded from universities and community colleges in North Carolina because they don’t have the appropriate documentation of residency. Chanting “there’s no debate, no space for hate” outside the classroom where the speech was being delivered, student protesters interrupted Tancredo’s speech. Tancredo was escorted out by campus police after a small window was smashed. Student representatives of the Carolina Hispanic Organization (CHispA), who attended the speech to protest Tancredo’s view, felt the outcome mischaracterized the position of those who support tuition benefits for all residents. In a report by the Raleigh News and Observer, the president of the organization is quoted saying: “We are the children of immigrants and this concerns us . . . We were more interested in an intellectual conversation instead of a shouting match . . .” (DeConto 2009). On the other hand, Tancredo used the UNC protest to stoke his anti-immigration view via a media blitz claiming his first amendment rights were violated: “There is no freedom of speech on hundreds of university campuses today for people who dare to dissent from the radical political agenda of the socialist left and the open borders agitators” (ABC News 2009). Tancredo returned in April 2010 to finish his talk, his visit financed partially by residents of North Carolina.
One steamy summer day in 2008, tow trucks carried away dozens of cars and trucks from an apartment complex on the edge of Carrboro, selecting vehicles with dents, significant rust, and otherwise deemed “unsightly.” The apartments are popular with undocumented Latina/os because the location is adjacent to an informal day labor market where men can sometimes find temporary employment. Next, the tow truck drivers began to remove vehicles of non-residents and any that had a discrepancy when signatories of apartment rental contracts were compared with vehicle registrations. This meant that an apartment resident postponing car repairs had to pay $100 to the towing company to recover her or his car. On several occasions crowds gathered to protest, to try to stop the towing, or to hurriedly move their cars before they were hauled off. When these protests erupted, landlords declared they were acting within their rights, that the towing...
... For school years 2001 to 2005, Latino students accounted for 57% of total growth in North Carolina public schools (Kasarda & Johnson, 2006). Many of these youth are native speakers of Spanish or another language, as demonstrated by the almost 400% increase in limited English proficiency students from 1994 to 2004 in North Carolina (Capps, 2009). ...
Latino youth are more likely than any other ethnic group to drop out of high school in the United States. Though some research has helped us understand the factors leading to dropout, very few studies have assessed Latino student’s opinions of services and factors that would help them stay in school (e.g., family, school, peers, and policies). This study presents the results of an in-depth survey of 501 Latino students in North Carolina public schools. Findings suggest that Latino youth drop out because of the difficulty of their school work, personal problems (e.g., pregnancy or problems at home), the need to work to support their family economically, and peer pressure. Students suggest improved academic and personal support in the form of tutoring, mentoring, after-school programs; improved English as a second language classes; and more Spanish-speaking staff/teachers. Recommendations for intervention and policy are suggested.
Beginning in the 1980s, but gaining momentum in the 1990s, North Carolina’s K-12 schools experienced a dramatic increase in the number of English language learner (ELL) students enrolling in schools across the state.
In recent years, immigrants from Latin America in record numbers have chosen the South—and North Carolina, in particular—as a new and favored destination. Because race has been a decisive historical organizing category in the South, the legacy of racism remains an ongoing source of concern as Latina/os take their place in the state. Although some state institutions and entities adapted to accommodate the changing population, this chapter argues that nativist sentiment has been expressed through a number of practices, including a program known as 287(g) that authorizes the enforcement of immigration laws at the local level. The program has provided new-found authority upon which localities can disguise a local politics of resentments and racial hostilities toward immigrants through the use of the instrumentalities of immigration enforcement powers. However, one conceptualizes the larger framework of immigration issues, what remains clear is that the enforcement of immigration laws at the local level will inevitably involve historical legacies of race and tolerance.
Latina mothers of infants and toddlers are at high risk for developing serious depressive symptoms if they are newly immigrated and have limited English proficiency (LEP). Depressive symptoms compromise these mothers and result in severe consequences for their U.S.-born children. A randomized clinical trial of a short-term, in-home psychotherapy intervention for symptomatic mothers in an area of the United States where bilingual mental health providers were scarce used teams of English-speaking advanced practice psychiatric mental health nurses and bilingual community interpreters who were trained in a conduit, consecutive model of interpretation. The article describes the development of a theoretically congruent interpreter model, the training program that supported it, the challenges that surfaced and lessons learned during successful implementation in the field. Future refinements in progress and uses of the model are discussed.
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