Integration Potential of Immigrants and Their Children

We waste a lot of time in this country debating immigration policy. Instead we should be spending our time reaching out to immigrants and developing more welcoming communities to encourage immigrant integration. I write about that issue and provide examples that work in Chapter 5 of Deporting Our Souls–Values, Morality and Immigration Policy (2006).

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) announces the release of a related, important report: Integration Potential of California’s Immigrants and Their Children: New Estimates of Potential New Voters at the State, County, and Legislative District Levels.

This new study examines the potential electoral impact of key populations in California: naturalized adult immigrants, immigrants eligible to naturalize, and U.S.-citizen children of immigrants who will soon become adults. The study provides never-before-published estimates of these potential new voters for every county and state legislative district in California. Some of the key findings include:
*     More than 2 out of 3 foreign-born California residents (6.5 million) are either U.S. citizens or are eligible to naturalize and vote.

*     More than 1.2 million U.S.-citizen children of immigrants will become eligible to vote by 2012.

*     Immigrant voters and their children could represent 29% of all future potential voters by 2012.

*     Potential voters from an immigrant background are a substantial electoral voice in both Republican and Democratic districts, representing more than 250,000 voters in seven California counties and more than 100,000 in fifteen counties. Click here for access to the full report.

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