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Chapter 15. Latinos in New York City: Ethnic Diversity, Changing Settlement Patterns, and Settlement Experiences
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C Ch ha ap pt te er r 1 15 5 Latinos in New York City: Ethnic Diversity, Changing Settlement Patterns, and Settlement Experiences KEITH D. GALLIGANO AND JOHN W. FRAZIER INTRODUCTION Founded in the 1600s by Dutch colonists due to its coastal location, New York City is the “metropolis of the world” and an area of opportunity. As a result, diverse migrants come to this area seeking economic and political stability, and the “American Dream.” Before the 1960s, European ancestries dominated New York City’s foreign-born population, primarily a result of the 1924 National Origins Act, which favored European migrants by restricting non-Europeans through the use of national quotas. However, after 1965, the number of non-European migrants increased dramatically because changes in U.S. policy extended immigration opportunities to non-Europeans by favoring family reunification (1965 Hart-Celler Act) and political circumstances (1980 Refugee Act) over country of origin. This produced large increases in Hispanic1 and Asian populations. Also, increased economic disparities between developing and developed countries resulting from globalization have “pushed” many immigrants from developing countries into urban areas of developed countries in search of economic stability. As a result of these external factors, “white flight,” and black reverse migration to the South, New York City’s population has continued to diversify racially and ethnically. Latino immigration provides an excellent example of this diversity. The Latino population of New York City has diversified greatly, resulting in the historically dominant Puerto Ricans representing less than a majority of the total Hispanic population for the first time in 1990 (Alba, 1995). This is a product of large increases in Mexican, Dominican and “Other Hispanic” ancestries after 1965. Due to the increasing diversity in origin within the Latino population of New York City, interethnic discontinuities may exist in socioeconomic status, settlement, and migration patterns. This chapter examines the socioeconomic status, settlement and migration patterns of Dominicans, Mexicans, and South Americans in New York City. These ethnic groups exhibit the largest percentage increases in population between 1990 and 2000 in New York City, compared to other Latino subgroups. It should be noted that the South American ancestry group consists of an aggregate of ancestries originating in South America because they are not listed separately in the 2000 U.S. Census. CHANGING RACIAL AND ETHNIC PATTERNS IN NEW YORK CITY Puerto Rican Settlement As a result of forced shifts in Puerto Rico’s primary agricultural export — from coffee to sugar and then back to coffee — and mechanization of farming techniques, unemployment rates soared in Puerto Rico in the 200 Keith D. Galligano and John W. Frazier late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the unemployed became involved in family based part-time businesses , like sewing, in order to survive. Others took advantage of favorable U.S. immigration policy as well as the prospects of economic prosperity and moved to the mainland U.S., primarily to New York City. Migrants were “pulled” into this city for economic opportunity, a result of the labor shortage produced by World War I and the booming economy of the 1920s. Two acts that helped Puerto Ricans take advantage of favorable economic opportunity in America were the Jones Act of 1917, which gave citizenship to Puerto Ricans, and the Johnson Act of 1921, which severely limited the flow of foreign immigrants into America (Sanchez, 1994). Migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City continued to increase marginally in the 1920s, until the beginning of the Great Depression. It rose once again during the labor shortages of WWII. Sanchez states that the efficient decrease in migration from Puerto Rico to New York during economic lapses can be somewhat contributed to family networks, which communicated the lack of job opportunities to Puerto Rico (Sanchez, 1994). In addition to social networking, migration rates increased and decreased due to recruitment. Through the use of U.S. federal funding, migrants were frequently given free transportation to the United States, in order to encourage migration in times of labor shortages. Furthermore, foreign recruitment agencies, like the Migration Division of Puerto Rico’s Department of Labor in New York City, were created to help educate potential migrants on job opportunities. Although the jobs that were available to Puerto Ricans were low-skilled, bluecollar jobs, migrants continued to come to the mainland due to more favorable employment conditions (Sanchez , 1994). With the increased migration of Puerto Ricans into New York City in the mid 20th century, ethnic enclaves , or colonias, that were geographically...