Hispanics in America

Even among the most cynical of Americans, there’s probably no avoiding that warm patriotic rush when visiting the Statue of Liberty and reading Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, with its now-famous invitation to “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.” Although the country’s open-border policy ended long ago, the ideal of a nation that openly welcomes immigrants is still far from empty.

But we’ve arguably reached a moment in history in which the gap between this welcoming ideal and the country’s existing immigration policy seems especially large and glaring. For some Americans (although certainly not all), it has become difficult to reconcile this ideal with immigration policies that, rightly or wrongly, have increasingly focused on deportation. The key policy question of our time, and the one taken on in this issue, is whether this focus on deportation has compromised other policy objectives, especially that of ensuring that immigrants can fully exploit their talents and succeed in the labor market.

Table of Contents (Spring 2015)

EDITOR'S NOTE

Editor's Note

HISPANICS IN AMERICA: A REPORT CARD ON POVERTY, MOBILITY, AND ASSIMILATION

The Real Hispanic Challenge
The simple aim of recent immigration and border policy: Reduce the inflow of undocumented migrants. Has the policy worked? Were there unanticipated consequences?
Why Isn't the Hispanic Poverty Rate Rising?
It is often assumed that, as the size of the undocumented population grows, poverty rates among Hispanics will increase. But in fact poverty rates have proven to be stable. Why?
The "Chilling Effect" of America's New Immigration Enforcement Regime
Are TANF enrollments declining because Hispanic immigrants are afraid that enrollment will lead to deportation? Find out here.
Revisiting the "Americano Dream"
Is Latino assimilation stalling out because of the recent recession, rising deportation rates, and the growing popularity of rural destinations?
The Waning Hispanic Health Paradox
It is well known that Hispanics have been more healthy than other groups in the U.S. with a similar socioeconomic position. Is this "Hispanic Health Paradox" alive and well?

Intervention

Reducing Poverty in California...Permanently
What if we decided to go beyond the usual lip-service commitments to reducing poverty and actually tried to do something big? Learn more about a new plan to reduce poverty—substantially and permanently—in California.

Research in Brief

Research in Brief
New evidence that conventional analyses of social mobility may overstate actual opportunities; the effects of long work hours on the gender gap; and more.