Abstract
At the time of entry into the U.S., immigrants are required to identify their ’intended’ destination to INS officials. They are not, however, required to remain in that location. If immigrant settlement patterns represent an evolutionary, dynamic system, it is likely that immigrants will adjust their location in the period shortly after arrival in the U.S. in response to various factors, leading to an ‘initial’ settlement system. Of interest in the following paper are the scale, direction and magnitude of adjustments made to the immigrant settlement system in the period shortly after arrival. The analysis utilizes the 1990 5 percent Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) and the 1985–90 Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Public Use Tapes in order to explore the intended and initial (observed) settlement patterns of recent (1985–90) immigrants and to comment upon the applicability of these terms. Results indicate that the two settlement patterns are highly similar, despite apparently high levels of movement among recent arrivals. The analysis also touches upon the ‘come to stay’ question raised by Ellis and Wright (1998a), suggesting that the interpretation of the question is dependent upon immigrant status rather than when immigrants first arrived in the U.S.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, J.P. & Turner, E. (1996). Spatial patterns of immigrant assimilation.The Professional Geographer, 48, 140–155.
Baker, R.P. & North, D.S. (1984).The, 1975 Refugees: Their First Five Years in America. Washington, DC: New TransCentury Foundation.
Bartel, A.P. (1989). Where do the new U.S. immigrants live?Journal of Labor Economics, 7, 371–391.
Bartel, A.P. & Koch, M.M. (1991). Internal migration of U.S. immigrants. In: J.M. Abowd & R.B. Freeman (Eds.),Immigration, Trade and the Labor Market, pp. 121–134. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Beaujot, R. & Rappak, J.P. (1987).Emigration From Canada: Its Importance and Interpretation. Population working paper No. 4, Ottawa: Policy and Program Development, Employment and Immigration Canada.
Borjas, G.J. (1994). The economics of immigration.Journal of Economic Literature, 32, 1667–1717.
Boswell, T.D. & Curtis, J.R. (1984).The Cuban-American Experience: Culture, Images and Perspectives. Totawa NJ: Rowman and Allanheld.
Castles, S. & Miller, M.J. (1993).The Age of Migration. New York: Guilford.
Clark, W.A.V. (1998).The California Cauldron. New York: Guilford.
DaVanzo, J.S. (1978). Does unemployment affect migration? Evidence from micro data.Review of Economics and Statistics, 60, 504–514.
Desbarats, J. (1985). Indochinese resettlement in the United States.Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 75, 522–538.
Donato, K.M., Durand, J. & Massey, J.S. (1992). Stemming the tide? Assessing the deterrent effects of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.Demography, 29, 139–157.
Ellis, M. & Wright, R. (1998a). When immigrants are not migrants: Counting arrivals of the foreign-born using the U.S. Census.International Migration Review, 32, 127–144.
Ellis, M. & Wright, R. (1998b). The balkanization metaphor in the analysis of U.S. Immigration.Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88, 686–698.
Espenshade, T.J. (1992). Unauthorized immigration to the United States.Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 195–216.
Foulkes, M. & Newbold, K.B. (2000). Migration propensities, patterns, and the role of human capital: Comparing Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican interstate migration, 1985–1990.The Professional Geographer, 52, 133–145.
Frey, W. (1996). Immigrant and native migrant magnets.American Demographics, 18, 37–53.
Frey, W. & Liaw, K.L. (1998). The impact of recent immigration on population redistribution within the United States. In J.P. Smith & B. Edmonston (Eds.),The Immigration Debate, pp. 388–448. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Garvey, D.L. & Espenshade, T.J. (1997). State and local fiscal impacts of New Jersey's immigrant and native households. In: T.J. Espenshade (Ed.),Keys to Successful Immigration: Implications of the New Jersey Experience, pp. 139–172. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.
Gimpel, J.G. (1999).Separate Destinations. Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Press.
Greenwood, M.J., McDowell, J.M. & Trabka, E. (1991). Conducting descriptive and analytical research with the immigration and naturalization service public use tapes.Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 17, 131–153.
Isbister, J. (1996).The Immigration Debate: Remaking America. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press.
Isserman, A. & Kort, J. (1988).Regional Economic Consequences of U.S. Immigration Policy. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, Working Paper 8810.
Kritz, M.M. & Nogle, J.M. (1994). Nativity concentration and internal migration among the foreign-born.Demography, 31, 509–524.
Massey, D.S. (1990). Social structure, household strategies, and the cumulative causation of migration.Population Index, 56, 3–26.
Massey, D.S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A. & Taylor, J.E. (1994). An evaluation of international migration theory: The North American case.Population and Development Review, 20, 699–751.
McHugh, K.E. (1989). Hispanic migration and population redistribution in the United States.The Professional Geographer, 41, 429–439.
McHugh, K.E., Miyares, I.N., & Skop, E.H. (1997). The magnetism of Miami: Segmented paths in Cuban migration.Geographical Review, 87, 504–519.
Moore, E.G., Ray, B.K. & Rosenberg, M.W. (1990).The redistribution of immigrants in Canada. WP 12, Employment and Immigration Canada: Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.
Moore, E.G. & Rosenberg, M.W. (1995). Modeling migration flows of immigrant groups in Canada.Environment and Planning A, 27, 699–714.
Neuman, K.E. & Tienda, M. (1994). The settlement and secondary migration patterns of legalized immigrants: Insights from administrative records In Edmonston, B. & Passel, J.S. (Eds.),Immigration and Ethnicity Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Newbold, K.B. (1996). Internal migration of the foreign-born in Canada.International Migration Review, 30, 728–747.
Newbold, K.B. (1999a). Evolutionary immigrant settlement patterns: Concepts and evidence. In Pandit, K. & Davies-Withers, S. (Eds.),Migration and Restructuring in the US: A Geographic Perspective, pp. 250–270. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.
Newbold, K.B. (1999b). Internal migration of the foreign-born: Population concentration or dispersion?Population and Environment, 20, 259–276.
Nogle, J.M. (1994). Internal migration for recent immigrants to Canada.International Migration Review, 28, 31–48.
Passel, J.S. (1986). Undocumented immigration.Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 487, 181–200.
Passel, J.S. & Woodrow, K.A. (1984). Geographic distribution of undocumented immigrants: Estimates of undocumented aliens counted in the 1980 census by state.International Migration Review, 18, 642–671.
Pedraza, S. & Rumbaut, R.G. (1996).Origins and Destinations: Immigration, Race and Ethnicity in America. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Piore, M.J. (1979).Birds of Passage: Migrant Labor and Industrial Societies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Portes, A. (1994). Introduction: Immigration and its aftermath.International Migration Review, 28, 632–639.
Portes, A. & Rumbaut, R. (1996).Immigrant America, Second Edition. University of California Press: Los Angeles.
Sjaastad, L.A. (1962). The costs and returns of human migration.Journal of Political Economy, 70, 80–93.
Uhlenburg, P.H. (1973). Non-economic determinants of non-migration: Sociological considerations for migration theory.Rural Sociology, 38, 296–311.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1991).Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Public Use Microdata Sample: 5 Percent Sampl (Computer file). 2nd release. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (producer).
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1995).Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
Walker, R. & Hannan, M. (1989). Dynamic settlement processes: The case of US immigration.Professional Geographer, 41, 172–183.
Zavodny, M. (2000). Determinants of recent immigrants' locational choices.International Migration Review, 33, 1014–1030.
Zelinsky, W. & Lee, B.A. (1998). Heterolocalism: An alternative model of the sociospatial behavior of immigrant ethnic communities.International Journal of Population Geography, 4, 281–298.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (97-08436). The author is solely responsible for the content of this research.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Newbold, K.B. Intended and initial settlement patterns of recent immigrants to the U.S., 1985–1990: A comparison of PUMS and INS public use files. Popul Environ 21, 539–563 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02436771
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02436771