By California Community Foundation and USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII)

January 9, 2020

Authors: Dalia Gonzalez, Sabrina Kim, Cynthia Moreno and Edward-Michael Muña

The State of Immigrants in Los Angeles (SOILA) report documents how immigrants are faring economically, if they are connected to and engaging in civic life, and how L.A. County creates a welcoming environment. It attempts to cover many if not all facets of immigrant life and provides a base for further inquiry, action, and forthcoming work for L.A. County immigrant-serving institutions.

Read the report, executive summary, and download data charts>>

January 22, 2019

By Thai Le, Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, Dalia Gonzalez, and Blanca Ramirez

In Paths to Citizenship, we explore the factors that influence naturalization rates among eligible-to-naturalize adults in the United States, including individual characteristics (such as English language ability, income, and knowledge about the process) and contextual factors (such as the receptivity of the state or region to immigrants and their families). 

Read the report, executive summary, fact sheets, and more! >>

Access the interactive data maps >>

December 4, 2018

By Cynthia Moreno, Rhonda Ortiz, Manuel Pastor, Blanca Ramirez, and Kim Tabari

Research analysis by CSII looks the potential impacts and implications of the proposed changes to the public charge definition to the residents in Los Angeles County. Key findings include:

1. The proposed change is likely to have a significant negative impact on mixed-status families, which include U.S.-born children to immigrant parents.
2. The change could erode trust of public agencies and services, leading to a decline in crime reporting, threatening public safety for all L.A. County residents.
3. The change could lead to a decline in usage and enrollment to health care and other L.A. County services, creating challenges for immigrants and U.S.-born alike.

Download the brief >>

May 14, 2018

Authors: Manuel Pastor, Rhonda Ortiz, and Magaly N. López 

Commissioned by The Asset Funders Network (AFN) and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)

With extreme levels of political polarization and heated rhetoric around immigrants and economic inequality in the U.S., funders working at the intersection of asset building and immigrant integration can play a vital role fostering shared prosperity and mobility for all Americans: native-born residents, long-settled immigrants, and newcomers alike.

To that end, CSII presents Immigrant Lives, American Futures—a paper synthesizing data, a literature review, and interviews with experts to offer insights and best practices for funders to explore the challenges, opportunities, and trends at the intersections of the immigrant integration and asset building fields. 

Learn more and download >>

March 16, 2017

The Center for American Progress and USC CSII have released an interactive data map and research brief, Keeping Families Together: Why All Americans Should Care About What Happens to Unauthorized Immigrants.

Among other key findings, this brief reveals that there are an estimated 16.7 million people in the U.S. that have at least one unauthorized family member living with them in the same household.

Read the brief and explore the state-by-state data map >>

January 2017

By the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) with research by the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC

CIPC releases "Resilience in an Age of Inequality: Immigrant Contributions to California," amidst the threat of mass deportations from the incoming administration. The report is the latest in a decade-long series of studies examining immigrants' profound contributions to California's economic, social, and community fabric. CSII partnered with CIPC to produce this report by analyzing demographics, labor force participation, GDP, and household incomes for the state's ten million immigrant residents -- including 2.7 million undocumented Californians.  For the first time, this report will place these contributions in the context of the growing crisis of severe economic inequality. The report finds that immigrant Californians share a common experience with other workers: helping to generate significant wealth for the state's industries, yet facing exploitation and displacement.

"Resilience in an Age of Inequality" highlights the stories of several immigrant Californians who are pursuing creative solutions to these challenges and working to build a better world for all. 

Learn more about the report >>

November 2016

By Manuel Pastor, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, Alejandro Sanchez-Lopez, Pamela Stephens, Vanessa Carter, and Walter Thompson-Hernandez

South LA is at once a historic stronghold of African Americans in Los Angeles and a place where a new sort of immigrant integration is unfolding. CSII’s research project, Roots|Raíces: Latino Engagement, Place Identities, and Shared Futures in South Los Angeles, explores the contexts, the lived experiences, and the data behind the settling of Latinos into a historically African-American place.

Roots|Raíces underscores:

• The importance of understanding the similarities and differences between two rooted communities in order to build bridges;
• Place identity can be as important as race identity and both should be considered to move toward common goals of social justice; and
• Building a Latino voice in South LA means bolstering Black voices and understanding that both depend on independence and interdependence.

What happens in South LA will not stay in South LA: Investing in both African-American and Latino leadership can prepare us for the challenges and opportunities of a city and country that will continue to be increasingly multiracial, multiethnic, and multilingual. 

Learn more and download Roots|Raíces >>

September 16, 2016

Rock the (Naturalized) Vote II report and new interactive mapis an update of CSII’s 2012 report which estimated the size and location of recently naturalized voting age citizen population and put forth an analysis of their electoral impact in national politics.

With immigration once again taking center stage in the 2016 presidential elections, CSII’s latest brief seeks to answer: What are the potential impacts of this new immigrant voting bloc? How sizeable is the potential immigrant vote, where do potential voters live, and could they make a difference in battleground and other states? 

CSII’s analysis includes data at the state level but also uses the most recent American Community Survey data (released on September 15, 2016 by the U.S. Census Bureau) to generate estimates at the sub-state level. CSII releases this brief and map just ahead of many voter registration deadlines across the U.S. in the hopes that this detailed data will be useful for those conducting last-minute voter registration and mobilization efforts in key areas.

Check out the interactive map which presents CSII's latest estimates of the size of the recently naturalized adult population and their composition by race/ethnicity and country/region of origin.

Learn more >>

July 6, 2016
By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, Madeline Wander, and Rhonda Ortiz

CSII's Data to Inform Strategy report looks at the benefits and barriers to naturalization, provides a snapshot of California's eligible-to-naturalize adult populations in California, and presents maps on where in the state they reside.  We also share detailed adult population profiles for the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) Initiative sites across the Golden State.

Learn more and download the report >>

May 23, 2016
By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, Jared Sanchez, and Rhonda Ortiz

Naturalization brings economic and civic benefits—and Los Angeles County is in a unique position to realize those gains with nearly one-tenth of the nation’s eligible-to-naturalize adults. This report is a detailed profile of the eligible-to-naturalize adult populations in Los Angeles County.

Learn more and download the report >>

May 6, 2016
By Manuel Pastor and Jared Sanchez

This brief calculates the impact of the recently announced partial fee waiver for naturalization applicants.

Learn more and download the brief >>

April 2016

Edited by John Mollenkopf and Manuel Pastor

Unsettled Americans, a book coedited by John Mollenkopf and Manuel Pastor, examines immigrant integration at the metropolitan level. In the book, the work of John Mollenkopf, Manuel Pastor, and their colleagues "considers immigrant reception in seven different metro areas, and their analyses stress the differences in capacity and response between central cities, down-at-the-heels suburbs, and outer metropolitan areas, as well as across metro areas. A key feature of case studies in the book is their inclusion of not only traditional receiving areas (New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles) but also newer ones (Charlotte, Phoenix, San Jose, and California's "Inland Empire"). Another innovative aspect is that the authors link their work to the new literature on regional governance, contribute to emerging research on spatial variations within metropolitan areas, and highlight points of intersection with the longer-term processes of immigrant integration."

PERE/CSII affiliated book contributors: 
Juan De Lara, University of Southern California
Rachel Rosner, independent consultant

For additional information, click here »

February 23, 2016
By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, and Jared Sanchez

CSII's latest fact sheets highlight the benefits of DAPA- and expanded DACA-eligible immigrants, shedding light on their impactful contributions to the state of California.

Learn more and download >>

December 15, 2015

Report partners: Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA), Welcoming America, and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) at USC.

Written by: Manuel Pastor (CSII), Rhonda Ortiz (CSII), and Els de Graauw (Baruch College, the City University of New York)

Learn more and access the full report >>

December 2015
By Enrico A. Marcelli (San Diego State University), Manuel Pastor (USC CSII), and Steven P. Wallace (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research)

"Toward a Healthy California" highlights research by Marcelli, Pastor, and Wallace on the importance of improving access to medical insurance for immigrants and why this matters for the future of all Californians.

In this report, the co-authors:

• Offer context on why health insurance matters, how immigrants actually access care, and why extending health coverage to all could have benefits for the whole state;
• Provide estimates of the size of the undocumented population and profiles for the 14 sites in The California Endowment’s (TCE) “Building Healthy Communities” (BHC) program;
• Present lessons from local efforts aiming to broaden access to health care and outline emerging policy ideas to close gaps in coverage.

Learn more and download the report >>

November 19, 2015
The Center for American Progress (CAP) and USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII)

By Manuel Pastor, Tom Jawetz, and Lizet Ocampo

Download the report >>

CSII provides new state-by-state projections of how many U.S. citizens (of voting age) live with unauthorized family members who would be eligible for DAPA under the president’s plan—we call them "DAPA-affected voters".

The report demonstrates how the growing electoral impact of DAPA-affected voters could play a decisive role in key battleground states in the 2016 elections and beyond.

Learn more >>

March 11, 2015
By Manuel Pastor, Jared Sanchez, and Vanessa Carter

With DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents) implementation temporarily stalled, new research released by the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration takes a closer look at the significant economic and social impacts of DAPA on an estimated 5.5 million U.S. citizen children.

Learn more and download the brief >>

February 2015
By Enrico A. Marcelli and Manuel Pastor

The USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration and San Diego State University present 15 new fact sheets titled “Unauthorized and Uninsured,” which measure current levels of health insurance coverage for undocumented immigrants in 14 California communities and their respective counties.

Learn more and download >>

January 2015
By Manuel Pastor, Patrick Oakford, and Jared Sanchez with Center for American Progress (CAP) and the National Parternship for New Americans

"Recent research, including Nurturing Naturalization report (2013), has suggested that the high fees to naturalize may serve as an impediment to Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) seeking citizenship.

To understand what fee changes might mean going forward, it would be useful to have a more detailed profile of those eligible to naturalize, including by income, education and English language ability - information not readily available in Office of Immigration Statistics data.

NPNA commissioned this research (released in January 2015) which aims to help policymakers, advocates, and service providers understand more clearly this pool of potential U.S. citizens."

Learn more and download >>

September 17, 2014
By the Center for Popular Democracy, USC CSII, and the National Partnership for New Americans

Learn more and download the report »

September 2014

By the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) and CSII

This report by CIPC and CSII is the third in a series of bi-annual "Looking Forward" reports that explore the economic, civic, and social impacts of immigrants in California.  In addition to statewide research, it also includes more in-depth looks at the data across different regions.  

Download the statewide report (on CIPC's Scribd page) »

Regional data inserts are available for the following regions:  Central Coast, Central Valley, Sacramento region, Greater Los Angeles, Inland Southern California, San Diego/Border region, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, Vanessa Carter, and Jared Sanchez
Jointly published with the Center for American Progress
July 24, 2014

View/download this report »

By Enrico Marcelli, Manuel Pastor, and Steven P. Wallace
May 2014

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By Norma Stoltz Chinchilla and Nora Hamilton
November 2013

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Preliminary Findings from the National UnDACAmented Research Project

By Roberto G. Gonzales, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Veronica Terriquez, University of Southern California
August 15, 2013

View preliminary findings »

By Manuel Pastor and Enrico Marcelli
With Vanessa Carter and Jared Sanchez
May 2013

View/download the report »

By Manuel Pastor, Jared Sanchez, Rhonda Ortiz, and Justin Scoggins
February 2013

Commissioned by the National Partnership for New Americans
With funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

View/download this report »

By Veronica Terriquez, John Rogers, Alejandra Vargas-Johnson and Caitlin Patler
January 2013

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By Arely Zimmerman, Anthony Perez, Michelle Saucedo, Jennifer Ito, and Manuel Pastor
January 2013

Commissioned by the UCLA Labor Center
Funded by Unbound Philanthropy

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By Manuel Pastor and Justin Scoggins
December 2012

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By Manuel Pastor and Jared Sanchez
October 2012

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By Manuel Pastor, Rhonda Ortiz, Vanessa Carter, Justin Scoggins, Anthony Perez
September 12, 2012

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By the California Immigrant Policy Center and USC CSII
June 2012

View/download this report and regional profiles »

Note: The updated, 2014 version of "Looking Forward" is also availabe on the CIPC website.

By Veronica Terriquez and Cailtin Patler
June 2012

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By Manuel Pastor, Juan De Lara, and Justin Scoggins
September 2011

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By Rob Paral and Associates
June 2011

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By Rob Paral and Associates
June 2011

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By Manuel Pastor and Justin Scoggins
March 2011

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By Veronica Terriquez and Vanessa Carter
September 2010

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By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins and Jennifer Tran
June 2010

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By Manuel Pastor, Justin Scoggins, Jennifer Tran, and Rhonda Ortiz
January 2010

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By Roberto Suro
December 2009

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By Jody Agius Vallejo
December 2009

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By Manuel Pastor and Rhonda Ortiz
January 2009

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By Dowell Myers
Summer 2008

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By Dowell Myers
January 2008

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By Dowell Myers
February 2007

Purchase the book »