We use administrative data about new legal permanent residents to show how family
unification chain migration changed both the age and regional origin of US
immigrants. Between 1981 and 1995, every 100 initiating immigrants from Asia
sponsored between 220 and 255 relatives, but from 1996 through 2000, each 100
initiating immigrants from Asia sponsored nearly 400 relatives, with one-in-four
ages 50 and above. The family migration multiplier for Latin Americans was
boosted by the legalization program: from 1996 to 2000, each of the 100
initiating migrants from Latin America sponsored between 420 and 531 family
members, of which 18–21 percent were ages 50 and over.
BeanF. D., and TiendaM.1987The Hispanic Population of the United States.New York: Russell
Sage.
5.
BorjasG. J., and TiendaM.1993“Employment and Wages of Legalized Immigrants.”International Migration Review27(4):
712–47.
6.
CarrS., and TiendaM.2013“Family Sponsorship and Late-Age Migration in Aging America:
Revised and Expanded Estimates of Chained Migration.”Population Research and Policy Review32(6):
825–49.
7.
DHS (US Department of Homeland
Security)2003 2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
2002–2008.Washington, DC: US Department of
Homeland Security, Office of Immigration
Statistics.
8.
DHS (US Department of Homeland
Security)20112010 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics.Washington, DC: Department of
Homeland Security, Office of Immigration
Statistics.
9.
DOJ (US Department of
Justice)1971, 1980, 1981 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration
and Naturalization Service.Washington, DC: Office of
Immigration Statistics.
10.
1981
11.
DOJ (US Department of
Justice)2007Immigrants Admitted To The United States 1981–2000 [Computer
file]. ICPSR03486-v2. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Immigration and
Naturalization Service [producer], 2002. Ann
Arbor: Inter-university Consortium for
Political and Social Research
[distributor].
12.
GAO (US General Accountability
Office)1988Immigration: The Future Flow of legal Immigration to the United
States.Washington, DC: Government
Printing Office.
13.
GordonL. W.1987“Southeast Asian Refugee Migration to the United
States.”Center for Migration Studies Special Issues5(3):
153–73.
14.
GriecoE. M.de la CruzY. D. A.PatriciaG.GambinoC.GrynT.LarsenL. J.TrevelyanE. N., and
WaltersN. P.2012“The Foreign-Born Population in the United States:
2010.”American Community Survey Reports, ACS-19, May.
Washington, DC: US Census
Bureau.
15.
HeW.2002“The Older Foreign-Born Population in the United States:
2000.”Current Population Reports, Series P23-211.
Washington, DC: US Census
Bureau.
16.
HirschmanC.2005“Immigration and the American Century.”Demography42(4):
595–620.
17.
JassoG., and
RosenzweigM. R.1986“Family Reunification and the Immigration Multiplier: US
Immigration Law, Origin-Country Conditions, and the Reproduction of
Immigrants.”Demography23(3):
291–311.
18.
JassoG., and
RosenzweigM. R.1989“Sponsors, Sponsorship Rates and the Immigration
Multiplier.”International Migration Review23(4):
856–88.
19.
JassoG., and
RosenzweigM. R.1990The New Chosen People: Immigrants in the United States.New York: Russell Sage
Foundation.
20.
KennedyE. M.1966“The Immigration Act of 1965.”The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science367: 137–49.
21.
KennedyE. M.1970“Immigration Law: Some Refinements and New
Reforms.”International Migration Review4(3):
4–10.
MasseyD. S.DurandJ., and MaloneN. J.2002Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic
Integration.New York: Russell Sage
Foundation.
NowrastehA.2012“The Rise of Asian Immigration.”Forbes, July 9.
26.
O'NeilK., and TiendaM.2015“Age at Immigration and the Incomes of Older Immigrants,
1994–2010.”Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social
Sciences70(2):
291–302.
27.
ParkJ., and MyersD.2010“Intergenerational Mobility in the Post 1965-Immigration Era:
Estimates by an Immigrant Generation Cohort Method.”Demography47(2):
369–92.
28.
PengX.2011“China's Demographic History and Future
Challenges.”Science333: 581–7.
TiendaM.2002“Demography and the Social Contract.”Demography39(4):
587–616.
35.
TiendaM., and SanchezS.2013“Latin American Pathways to the United States: Immigration
Policies and their Unintended Consequences.”Daedalus142(3):
48–64.
36.
WalshJ.2008“Navigating Globalization: Immigration Policy in Canada and
Australia, 1945–2007.”Sociological Forum23(4):
786–813.
37.
WasemR. E.2012U.S. Immigration Policy on Permanent Admissions. Congressional
Research Service Report RL32235. Washington, DC:
Congressional Research
Service.
38.
YuB.2008Chain Migration Explained: The Power of the Immigration
Multiplier.New York: LFP Scholarly
Publishing.
