Mexican and Central American Immigrants in the United States by Kate Brick, A. E. Challinor, and Marc R. Rosenblum

Mexican and Central American Immigrants in the United States by Kate Brick, A. E. Challinor, and Marc R. Rosenblum examine the age, educational, and workforce characteristics of immigrants and the second generation from Mexico and Central America. Compared to the US born and other immigrant groups, Mexican and Central American immigrants are younger, more likely to be male, and more likely to be married with children, most of whom are native-born US citizens. They have lower education levels than the US born, and Mexicans in particular have the lowest levels of formal education of any immigrant group. Both Mexican and Central American immigrants also have lower levels of English language proficiency than other immigrants. Their workforce participation rates are very high, but are concentrated in low-paying jobs; as a consequence, Mexican and Central American immigrants earn incomes lower than other foreign-born groups and substantially lower than their US-born counterparts. The fact that a high proportion of immigrants from Mexico and Central America are unauthorized supersedes all other considerations for some stakeholders in the debate, and sharply constrains these immigrants’ economic, social, and political opportunity structures.

This report is the latest research released through an MPI-European University Institute (EUI) research partnership funded by the European Union.

KJ