Resilience in An Age of Inequality: Immigrant Contributions Report (2017 Edition)
Resilience in An Age of Inequality: Immigrant Contributions Report (2017 Edition)
Resilience in An Age of Inequality: Immigrant Contributions Report (2017 Edition)
American residents. These factors have driven people to live farther and farther from where they work.
These barriers to equity and prosperity are entrenched and systematic. Yet Californias residents are
also well-known for their creativity. Communities across the state are exercising grassroots leadership
and actively advocating for measures to advance economic, racial, and housing justice. And immigrant
communities whose contributions to states economy, as we have noted, run in the billions - form a
crucial part of efforts to be included in the prosperity which they have helped to generate.
As these efforts develop, the particular experiences of immigrant communities lfacing this inequality often amidst the ever-present threat of deportation and lacking access to key resources - offer
valuable insights.
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey, 27 percent of California residents are
immigrants, a rate higher than any other state and significantly higher than New York which has the
second highest rate at 22 percent.9 This amounts to over 10.3 million immigrant residents in California.
Of those roughly 10.3 million immigrants, 2.9 million are undocumented or about 28 percent of all
immigrants in California.10
Almost 5 million of Californias immigrants are citizens. In addition, there are 2.2 million immigrants
who are eligible to naturalize but for various reasons - including barriers in the process11 have not.
Immigrants in the state are a diverse group: 42 percent are from Mexico, 35 percent from Asia,
8 percent from Central America, 7 percent from Europe, 3 percent from South America and the
Caribbean, 2 percent from Africa, and 2 percent from the rest of the world.
CHILDREN AND MIXED-STATUS FAMILIES
Immigrants and their children make up 42 percent of Californias population. Of all children in
California, 47 percent have at least one immigrant parent.
Most non-citizens (74 percent) live in households that also have citizens. About 81 percent of
non-citizen Latinos live in households with citizens, as do about 62 percent of Asian American,
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander non-citizens.
WORKFORCE
Immigrants comprise more than one-third (35 percent) of Californias civilian, non-institutional
workforce. They account for over two-thirds of all agricultural workers, nearly half of all workers in the
manufacturing industry, and over 40 percent of all workers in the wholesale trade, construction, and
other services (except public administration) industries. The undocumented in particular comprise
a large share of workers in the agriculture and construction industries, at 45 percent and 21 percent,
respectively, and represent 10 percent of the states total workforce.
In terms of occupations, immigrants make up the majority of those involved in farming, fishing, and
forestry (82 percent), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance (67 percent), and production
(58 percent), and comprise a large share of workers in construction (48 percent), food preparation
and serving (45 percent), transportation and material moving (45 percent), and computer and
CONSTRUCTION TRADES
Plasterers and Stucco Masons (74%)
Roofers (69%)
Painters, Construction and Maintenance (67%)
FOOD PREPARATION AND SERVING
Dishwashers (67%)
Cooks (65%)
Chefs and Head Cooks (55%)
TRANSPORTATION AND MATERIAL MOVING
Packers and Packagers, Hand (71%)
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment (61%)
Taxi Drivers and Chauffeurs (56%)
COMPUTER AND MATHEMATICAL
Software Developers, Applications and Systems Software (57%)
Actuaries (45%)
Computer and Information Research Scientists (44%)
mathematical occupations (41 percent). Within these job sectors, several positions are held primarily
by immigrants, many of them undocumented.12
IMMIGRANT SHARE OF WORKERS BY OCCUPATION
Immigrants come to California with various skills. For example, among those ages 25 or older, 26
percent have a bachelors degree or higher.
ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Immigrant workers are important to the California economy. They contribute about 32 percent of
Californias GDP.13 This amounts to around $715 billion, a figure well over the total revenue of
Wal-Mart in 2016.14
Undocumented immigrants in California alone contribute about $181 billion of Californias GDP
a figure just about equal to the 2015 GDP for the entire state of Oklahoma.15
Additionally, immigrant households make up 28 percent of the total household income in California,
and thus represent a substantial share of all spending power in the state.
Immigrant-owned businesses also contribute to the economy. A 2012 study found that one in three
small business owners in California are immigrants.16 Meanwhile, another study found that 2007 to
2011, immigrants in the state founded around 45 percent of all new businesses, while 36.6 percent of
the states business owners in 2011 were immigrants.17
INCOME RANGES
For all households headed by an immigrant in California, per capita household income is about
$27,900 annually, and $16,100 for households headed by an undocumented immigrant.18 This
is significantly lower than the overall per capita household income in the state of about $38,100.
Full-time immigrant workers have median annual earnings of about $36,800 ($23,700 for the
undocumented), substantially below the $52,600 earned by the U.S.-born.
Housing costs are extremely high in California relative to income levels. The state ranks second among
all 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of rent burden, with 57 percent of renter-occupied
households spending more than 30 percent of household income on rent and utilities, and also ranks
second in terms of homeowner burden, with 37 percent of owner-occupied households spending over
30 percent of household income on housing costs.19
Deportations
Deportations of immigrant residents have a devastating impact on local communities and families, and
the entanglement of local law enforcement with deportation has sparked controversy across the state.
The previous edition of this report, using data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noted
the 117,000 deportations California suffered under the Secure Communities or S-Comm deportation
program from its initiation in the state in approximately 2010 up to July 2014. Immigration authorities
subsequently rebranded S-Comm as the Priority Enforcement Program or PEP, which has continued to
spur civil rights, due process, and community safety concerns. To date, ICE has not provided localized
deportation data for states or counties under PEP; a Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit is working its
way through the courts.22
In-movers
8,024
All residents
56,480
57%
43%
42%
58%
77%
23%
65%
35%
16%
14%
70%
30%
20%
50%
41%
23%
36%
50%
21%
29%
Note: "In-movers" includes all people age one year or older that live in the community
and moved during the past year. While most are likely to have moved in from outside the
community, it also includes those who moved to a new residence wwithin the community.
Data represent a 2010 through 2014 average.
These deep roots in the neighborhood were threatened this summer, when, according to advocates, the
landlord paid the master tenant to vacate the property without regards to these two families. Working
with local group Causa Justa::Just Cause, the families whose children attend local schools - launched
a public campaign, including a online petition. The principal of a local school which one of the children
attends wrote a letter against the eviction, stating the child, who has a learning disability, is beginning
to shine and thrive and could be adversely impacted by the upheaval of the eviction.28
Causa Justa::Just Cause (CJJC) is a community-based organization born through two different mergers
between Black organizations and Latino organizations, dedicated to building bridges of solidarity
between working class communities. The organization has been at the frontlines of the fight against
displacement in the Mission District. In a 2014 report, Development without Displacement: Resisting
Gentrification in the Bay Area, the organization outlines a framework of principles, policies, and
practices for preventing displacement.
Noting that resident outreach and community organizing are key to any anti-displacement strategy,
Development without Displacement calls for baseline protections for vulnerable residents, preservation
and production of deeply affordable housing, stabilization of existing communities, non-market based
approaches to housing and development, displacement prevention of a regional priority, and planning
as a participatory process.
San Francisco
San Franciscos Mission District has, for many decades, been known across the world as a vibrant hub
for working-class people of color - including Latino/a/x23 immigrant communities from both Mexico
and Central America, with some South American presence as well.
In recent years, the district has arguably been a sort of ground zero for a strikingly intensified process
of displacement, which has come amidst an unprecedented and unstable surge in the tech industry
in the city.24 Immigrant community members, acting in concert with multi-racial alliances, have been at
the forefront of efforts to challenge displacement and campaign for community-led development.
Data from the American Community Survey and other sources help illustrate how this process has
affected immigrant communities.
The Mission District of San Francisco has changed dramatically over the past decade, and this change
has been marked by a decline in the immigrant population. Between 2000 and 2014, there was a net
population decline of about 6 percent, but the immigrant population fell by 27 percent while the U.S.born population increased by 11 percent.25 Over the same period, there was actually a net increase of
3 percent in the immigrant population for the City and County of San Francisco overall.
Residential displacement appears to have been more severe for low-income immigrants in the Mission
District. For example, the number of immigrants below the federal poverty level declined by 37 percent
between 2000 and 2014 in the Mission District, falling from about 5,200 to 3,300, while it increased by
25 percent for the City and County of San Francisco overall. A decline in the share of renter-occupied
housing units in the Mission District over the same period, falling from 82 percent to 76 percent,
suggests that those displaced were more likely to be renters, and that new residents are more likely to
be homeowners. The decline in the share of renter-occupied housing units was much sharper in the
Mission District than for the City and County of San Francisco overall, where it only fell slightly from
65 percent to 63 percent.
High housing prices seem to be the primary force behind the decline in the immigrant and
particularly low-income immigrant population. As of September 30th, 2016, the Zillow Group reports
a median home value for the Mission District of about $1.2m and a median monthly rent of about
$4,900, which reflect increases of 71 percent and 57 percent, respectively, over the previous five years,
and are similar to the increases seen for the City and County of San Francisco overall during the same
period.26
To more clearly understand how new residents in the community differ from those already there, we
compare the characteristics of those who moved during the past year to all residents. The table below
compares the characteristics of in-movers people who live in the community now but lived in a
different house one year ago (and thus are likely new residents) to all residents combined in 2014.27 As
can be seen, new residents are more likely to be U.S.-born (non-immigrant), non-Hispanic white, and
to have higher levels of education and income. While data on the characteristics of those who moved
out of the community over the same period is not available at such a detailed level of geography, data
on the net demographic changes in the community along with high housing costs suggests that they
are likely quite the opposite of new residents that is, more likely to be immigrants, people of color,
and to have lower levels of income and educational attainment.
Criminalization
Displacement is the result of several interlocking factors, one of which, local advocates have indicated,
is the strained relationship between communities of color and law enforcement. Last year, the fatal
police shooting in the Mission District of Luis Gngora, an indigenous immigrant from Yucatn,
Mexico who had lived in San Francisco for nearly 14 years and had become homeless in 2013, sparked
protests.29 This was one of several police shootings of Black and Latino residents which, coupled with a
scandal concerning racist text messages, rocked community-police relations in the city. 30
In San Francisco as a whole, striking racial disparities are found in arrest rates. For example, a 2015
study commissioned by the city found that as of 2013, for every white person arrested, San Francisco
police arrested 7.1 black people. Unfortunately, the study found that accurate arrest data for Latino San
Franciscans was not available, as the available figures did not take ethnicity into account. Thus, many
Latinos may have been counted as white, obscuring the extent of the disparities. 31
Access to opportunities for support
Another challenge highlighted by community organizers is that when immigrant residents are
forced out of San Francisco, they are cut off from important protections and supports, which are
often the product of years of community advocacy. For example, San Francisco has created a health
care program32 - among the most robust in the state - which helps ease the unjust exclusion of
undocumented residents from federal health care reform. As immigrant San Franciscans are pushed
out of the city, they lose access to this support and are cut off from accessing vital programs that
provide access to care and improve the wellbeing of immigrant families.
High housing prices seem to be the primary force behind the decline in the immigrant and
particularly low-income immigrant population. As of September 30th, 2016, the Zillow Group reports
a median home value for Echo Park of about $747k and a median monthly rent of about $2,800, which
reflect increases of 90 percent and 42 percent, respectively, over the previous five years. These recent
In-movers
3,701
All residents
32,375
39%
61%
23%
77%
75%
25%
57%
43%
24%
20%
56%
44%
21%
35%
59%
25%
16%
66%
18%
15%
Note: "In-movers" includes all people age one year or older that live in the community
and moved during the past year. While most are likely to have moved in from outside the
community, it also includes those who moved to a new residence within the community.
Data represent a 2010 through 2014 average.
housing cost increases are much higher than for the County overall of 49 percent and 20 percent,
respectively, during the same period.35
To more clearly understand how the new residents in the community differ from those already there, we
compare the characteristics of those who moved during the past year to all residents. The table below
compares the characteristics of in-movers people who live in the community now but lived in a
different house one year ago (and thus are likely new residents) to all residents combined in 2014.36 As
can be seen, new residents are more likely to be U.S.-born (non-immigrant), non-Hispanic white, and
to have higher levels of education and income. While data on the characteristics of those who moved
out of the community over the same period is not available at such a detailed level of geography, data
on the net demographic changes in the community along with high housing costs suggests that they
are likely quite the opposite of new residents that is, more likely to be immigrants, people of color,
and to have lower levels of income and educational attainment.
Koreatown
The Koreatown community has been changing over the past decade, and like Echo Park, this change
has been marked by a decline in the immigrant population. Between 2000 and 2014, there there was
a net population decline of about 7 percent in the community, but the immigrant population fell by
15 percent while the U.S.-born population increased by 12 percent.37 Over the same period, there was
actually a net increase of 1 percent in the immigrant population for Los Angeles County overall.
Based on examining net population changes in the community, about 7 out of 10 of the immigrants
displaced appear to be of very low income, with family incomes placing them below the federal poverty
level. The number of immigrants below the federal poverty level declined by 36 percent between
2000 and 2014 in Koreatown, falling from about 24,000 to 15,000, while it fell by only 5 percent for
KOREATOWN, 2014
Total population
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic white
People of color
Nativity
U.S.-born
Immigrant
Educational attainment (age 25 or older)
High school graduate or less
Some college or associate degree
Bachelor's degree or higher
Individual income in 2014 dollars
(age 15 or older with income)
Less than $35,000
$35,000 to $64,999
$65,000 or more
In-movers
15,087
All residents
97,608
13%
87%
7%
93%
42%
58%
37%
63%
37%
27%
37%
54%
20%
26%
75%
15%
10%
80%
13%
7%
Note: "In-movers" includes all people age one year or older that live in the community
and moved during the past year. While most are likely to have moved in from outside the
community, it also includes those who moved to a new residence within the community.
Data represent a 2010 through 2014 average.
10
As determined immigrants, they thought that if they only worked hard, they
would be able to retire with dignity in the Koreatown Community that made
them feel closest to home. However, as they got older, they realized that it
was impossible for them to retire in Los Angeles because housing prices
were beyond their reach. Mr. Ko mused that even though we loved L.A., we
had no choice but to look outside of the county for a place to live, and leave
their community behind. They ended up in Torrance, in the South Bay, and
Mr. Ko and his wife have to suffer the awful Los Angeles traffic commute
every day to go to work. To arrive in Koreatown from Torrance by 9:00 AM,
drivers may spend almost two hours traversing just 26 miles.
the County overall. There was no change in the share of renter-occupied housing units in Koreatown
between 2000 and 2014, which remained extremely high at 95 percent.
High housing prices seem to be the primary force behind the decline in the immigrant and
particularly low-income immigrant population. As of September 30th, 2016, the Zillow Group reports
a median home value for Koreatown of about $572k and a median monthly rent of about $2,600, which
reflect increases of 61 percent and 34 percent, respectively, over the previous five years. These recent
housing cost increases are higher than for the County overall of 49 percent and 20 percent, respectively,
during the same period.38
To more clearly understand how new residents in the community differ from those already there, we
compare the characteristics of those who moved during the past year to all residents. The table below
compares the characteristics of in-movers people who live in the community now but lived in a
different house one year ago (and thus are likely new residents) to all residents combined in 2014.39
As can be seen, new residents are more likely to be U.S.-born (non-immigrant), non-Hispanic white,
and to have higher levels of education and somewhat higher levels of income. While data on the
characteristics of those who moved out of the community over the same period is not available at such
a detailed level of geography, data on the net demographic changes in the community along with high
housing costs suggests that they are likely quite the opposite of new residents that is, more likely to
be immigrants, people of color, and to have lower levels of income and educational attainment.40
Concluding observations
This report reveals alarming disparities and what they have meant in terms of where communities of
color can continue to live and thrive.
A common thread runs through the stories of Daniel Maher, the Maldonado and Martinez families,
and Mr. Ko: each of these community members responded to intense challenges with resilience
and determination. They acted not in isolation, but as part of broader communities and movements
resisting the hollowing out of their neighborhoods and the increases in wealth that do not include
them. This experience unites them with so many other immigrants and so many other Californians.
In an age where the creation of stunning wealth goes hand-in-hand with the creation of stunning
disparities, immigrant communities, who make up one third of Californias workforce and contribute
tremendously to the growing prosperity of key industries, have a crucial role to play in advancing
economic justice and equity for all.
Credits Editor/Writer Jon Rodney, CIPC Principal Researchers: Justin Scoggins and Jared Sanchez,
Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) at the University of Southern California Reviewers:
Cynthia Buiza, Betzabel Estudillo, Stacy Suh, CIPC ; Kitzia Esteva and Mayra-Yoana Jaimes, and Rose
Arrieta, Causa Justa::Just Cause; Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, Pangea Legal Services; and the Korean
11
(Endnotes)
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-people-areusing-the-term-latinx_us_57753328e4b0cc0fa136a159
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