Selection, context, or both? The English fluency of Mexican immigrants in the American Midwest and Southwest

Abstract

International immigration to the United States is at its highest levels since the turn of the century. Mexican-born persons comprise the plurality of the total legal and illegal immigrant flow to the United States. The primary destination of Mexican immigrants has been and continues to be the Southwestern United States (INS 1999a, 1999b), with Los Angeles remaining the top intended metropolitan destination. Most studies of Mexican immigration have focused on the United States, in general, (i.e., Gamio 1930; Bustamante 1984; Massey 1986, Massey et al. 1987, 1994) and thus, by default, the American Southwest (Griswold Del Castillo & De Leon 1996; Hondagneu-Sotelo 1994).1 However, Mexican migrants appear to be relocating to non-southwestern destinations (Binational Study 1997; Passel & Zimmerman 2000), sometimes from other states (Gouveia and Stull 1997), as well as directly from Mexico. Research shows that Mexican immigration to the Midwest particularly is increasing (Durand et al. 2000; Gouveia & Saenz 1999; Saenz & Cready 1996). Census 2000 data indicate that the Latino population grew by 71.2 percent in the Midwest between 1990 and 2000 (Guzman 2001, Table 2). Some of this population growth is likely due to Mexican immigration. Indeed, Chicago is the most popular non-southwestern destination for Mexican immigrants (INS 1999a, b, Martin et al. 1996), though the rural Midwest is an increasingly popular destination, as well (Charvat-Burke & Goudy 1999; Gouveia & Stull 1997). The adaptation of immigrants in a new environment has always been of concern to scholars and policymakers. Research has demonstrated that learning and using English has serious consequences for immigrants' occupational status (Stolzenberg 1990) and earnings (Chiswick & Miller 1995; Delechat