The Future of Immigrant Integration: A preview of the California 100 report

California 100 is a new research and policy initiative aimed at providing the state with a dedicated and thorough analysis of California’s long-term needs across a variety of critical sectors such as energy, the environment, the economy, and immigrant integration. As part of the initiative’s efforts, our team at the USC Equity Research Institute was tasked with exploring California’s diverse immigrant population and providing high-quality research. To that end, USC ERI released The Future of Immigrant Integration – California 100 Policy and Scenario report in April 2022, to offer insights on the demographics and policy priorities of the state’s immigrant communities and examine possible scenarios and policy alternatives for future-focused action.

California is known throughout the country for its vibrant diversity and welcoming policies. However, critical disparities remain among California’s immigrant communities including linguistic isolation, digital connectedness, rent and housing burden, among others. While California is an established destination for immigrants, the contours of immigration are changing;  immigrants’ arrival to the state, specifically, is less certain; and legal status prohibitions further stratify undocumented immigrants. Although California is home to the largest share of immigrants and most settled (as measured by years in the U.S.), the state’s share of immigrants has decreased from the 1990s from one-third to just under 24 percent–even amidst an era when California has become one of the most welcoming states in the U.S. What must not be overlooked as a crucial starting point, however, is how immigrants are faring in the present in order to shape local, state, and federal policies. The Golden State has a particular interest as immigrants make substantial economic, political, and social contributions. As outlined below, our research puts special attention on several metrics that underscore immigrant integration.

Warmth and Integration

California currently holds a reputation for being a pro-immigrant and welcoming state. As our full CA 100 report summarizes, California’s history towards immigrants has not always been accepting or welcoming. There were periods of intense resistance to increased migration, including state initiatives like Proposition 187, which attempted to deputize school and health workers as immigration enforcement. Today California is better known for its pro-immigrant policies such as the California Values Act (Senate Bill 54) which protects undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation. When it comes to immigrant integration, our report highlights a set of important indicators that measure the state’s level of welcome towards immigrants–such as the number of naturalized citizens in the state, digital connectedness, and linguistic isolation.

Naturalization is one of the most important and telling measures when it comes to immigrant integration and welcome. Naturalization offers crucial benefits and opportunities to immigrants such as the right to vote, returns on taxes, and a strong sense of belonging. States and localities that commit significant resources to helping eligible-to-naturalize immigrants complete the process of becoming U.S. citizens are often thought of as immigrant-friendly by the public. This includes California which dedicates yearly state funds for naturalization.  Yet, data on naturalization must be disaggregated by race and ethnicity in order to recognize the different language, cultural, and socioeconomic needs of different immigrant groups. Our findings show that among the eligible adult population in California, 58.5 percent of Latino immigrants are naturalized, in comparison to 69.1 percent of Pacific Islander immigrants, 78.1 percent of Black immigrants, 78.8 percent of white immigrants, 76.3 of Other/mixed-race immigrants, and 82.3 percent of Asian American immigrants. At a larger scope, out of the approximately 2.2 million eligible-to-naturalize immigrants in the state, nearly 1.4 million (63.7 percent) are Latino. One of the most important outcomes is the political power that comes with citizenship.

Another important indicator that measures integration is digital connectedness, which refers to whether people have access to both a computing device and reliable high-speed internet. During this COVID-19 era, digital connectedness is more crucial than ever, as everything from K-12 schools to full-time jobs have at least partially moved online. Our findings highlight that immigrants are more likely to be digitally disconnected than U.S.-born Californians. Specifically, 33 percent of immigrants in the state are digitally disconnected compared to 26.2 percent of U.S.-born residents. Even more distressing are the digital divide percentages by immigration status. Approximately 48 percent of undocumented immigrants in California are digitally disconnected in comparison to 32.3 percent of lawful residents and 26.9 percent of naturalized citizens. There is an urgent need to increase digital access to immigrants across the state–especially among the undocumented population– so that immigrants can keep up with an increasingly digital world.

In contrast to the naturalization indicator, the linguistic isolation indicator measures the lack of robust language access among immigrants. In California, 25.6 percent of immigrant-headed households are categorized as linguistically isolated–meaning no member of the family aged 14 or older speaks English at least “very well”.  Households headed by undocumented immigrants are the most likely to be linguistically isolated (38.0 percent), in comparison to households headed by lawful residents (26.8 percent) and naturalized citizens (21.3 percent). Linguistic isolation is a serious barrier to recognizing and understanding important information such as legal documents and medical information, which gravely interferes with immigrants’ ability to access benefits.

When disaggregated by race and ethnicity, households headed by Latino immigrants and Asian American immigrants are the most likely to be linguistically isolated. Approximately 29 percent of Latino immigrant-headed households are linguistically isolated while 27 percent of Asian American immigrant households are linguistically isolated. In comparison, 17.4 percent of Other/mixed-race households, 16.4 percent of white immigrant households, 10.5 percent of Black immigrant households, and 5.9 percent of Pacific Islander households are linguistically isolated.

Looking across the different regions in California, we find that nearly 33 percent of immigrant-headed households in the Central Valley are linguistically isolated, 32 percent in Monterey-San Benito, 28.7 percent in Los Angeles County, and 28.3 in the San Francisco and Marin County region. Understanding the language access disparity across California’s regions can help the state designate resources to regions where linguistic isolation among immigrants is most pronounced.

Undocumented Population 

California is also home to the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the country. On top of the challenges many immigrants face, undocumented immigrants confront substantial legal hurdles and related disadvantages that negatively impact their well-being and integration.  Among the immigrant population, many social and economic indicators reflect this precarity despite the integral role they play in California’s economic and cultural engine. For instance, nearly 82 percent of undocumented immigrants are working age compared to 46 percent of the U.S.-born population. Considering nativity and status, a higher share of undocumented immigrants work in occupations deemed “higher COVID-19 risk” occupations (%) and over a third of undocumented immigrants lack health insurance. This is particularly worrisome as over half of undocumented workers work in manual-intensive industries such as farming, fishing, and forestry industry. Related industries including cleaning and maintenance, production, construction trades, and food preparation and serving also have a considerable share of undocumented workers and immigrants.

Despite the intensive physical labor required of the occupations where undocumented workers are clustered, the compensation for undocumented workers is the lowest when accounting for nativity and immigration status. For all full-time Californian workers, the median hourly wage is $24.28; for immigrants, the median is $19.43, and for undocumented workers, it is $13.11. Even amidst California’s efforts to raise the minimum wage, undocumented workers continue to be left behind. In 2019, just over 3 in every 5 undocumented full-time workers earned less than $15/hour. On the other hand, 37 percent of lawful residents, nearly 25 percent of naturalized citizens, and just over 20 percent of U.S.-born full-time workers earned less than $15/hour. Further, nearly 44 percent of undocumented full-time workers’ families live in working poverty, or whose family income is 200 percent below the federal poverty level.

Undocumented Californians’ efforts to integrate come against monumental barriers preventing this very thing. The large discrepancies in earnings and family income for undocumented workers can in part be accounted for by two structural factors: immigrants’ lower educational attainment and their inability to realistically gain legal status. This highlights the need for state and federal policies to address these disparities. While our report features a variety of measures that focus on the well-being of immigrant communities in California, it is crucial to understand the particular barriers and burdens that plague the undocumented immigrant population.

Education and Wages

Disparities in educational attainment, especially in the bifurcated labor market⁠—or high-skill, low-skill economy that values and unequally compensates educational credentials⁠—are linked to diverse economic and social conditions for immigrant communities. Compared to the U.S.-born population, immigrants have lower levels of educational attainment. In California, 31.2 percent of working-age immigrants (ages 25 to 64) have less than a high school degree, whereas only 7.3 percent of the U.S.-born population have less than a high school education. When it comes to bachelor’s degrees, the U.S.-born population (37.0 percent) is also more likely than the immigrant population (29.9 percent) to hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

There are significant educational differences by immigration status. Undocumented immigrants are vastly more likely to have less than a high school degree (56.2 percent) and the least likely to have at least a bachelor’s degree (12.0 percent). In comparison, 37.5 percent of naturalized citizens and 32.7 percent of lawful residents have at least a bachelor’s degree. These figures paint a stark picture of inequity when it comes to educational attainment. Furthermore, lack of educational opportunities can contribute to a lack of employment opportunities for immigrants which can limit their earnings and affect their overall livelihoods.

Considering race and ethnicity also highlights insightful distinctions. In California, Latino immigrants have the lowest educational attainment levels with 50.8 percent of immigrants having less than a high school degree and just over 8.0 percent having at least a bachelor’s degree. Similar to Latinos yet on a smaller scale, Pacific Islander immigrants have lower educational attainment (14.4 percent have less than a high school degree and 16 percent have at least a bachelor’s degree). Even though pan-ethnic race categories are helpful for general patterns and trends, they do not tell the whole story. For example, among Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian, Fijian, Samoan, and Tongan educational attainment levels diverge from the umbrella term of Asian American.

Educational attainment needs to be part of the conversation on immigrant integration because Immigration status and nativity (similar to gender) are linked to increasing wages across education levels, leaving many immigrants at a disadvantage. Across immigration status, nativity, and educational attainment, the largest gaps in median hourly wages are for immigrants with less than a bachelor’s degree. However, a poignant finding is that undocumented immigrants have the lowest median hourly wages at each educational level: $11.66, for less than a high school degree; $13.21, with a high school degree or equivalent; $14.57, with some college or associates degree; and $36.91, for a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Poverty and Housing

Although California is known across the nation for being an attractive place to live, rising rent and housing costs have continued to burden California residents. Immigrant families, in particular, have a much higher likelihood of being rent burdened or housing burdened compared to U.S.-born families. Rent or housing burden refers to households having to pay 30 percent or more of their income towards rent and utilities. The data show that 57.5 percent of immigrant-headed households are rent burdened compared to 51.8 percent of U.S.-born-headed household renters. When disaggregated by race and ethnicity, certain immigrant groups are more likely to be rent burdened in California. For example, 61.4 percent of Latino immigrants are rent burdened in comparison to white immigrants (57.2 percent), Black immigrants (56.8 percent), and Other/mixed-race immigrants (57.1 percent).

Rent and housing burden is further exacerbated by the fact that many immigrant families are living in poverty, especially those that are undocumented. Nearly 57 percent of households headed by undocumented immigrants who arrived within the last ten yearsare living in poverty, whereas 51 percent of undocumented immigrants who arrived more than 30 years ago live in poverty. Although undocumented immigrant families who have lived in the U.S. for a long time are less likely to live in poverty than those who arrived within the last ten years, the poverty rate still remains high. Overall, the undocumented population in California faces increased burdens and barriers when it comes to employment, housing, and legal protections.

Conclusion

Although California continues to lead the nation through its welcoming policies, it is clear that there is more for the Golden State to improve upon when it comes to immigrant integration.The Future of Immigrant Integration report highlights a variety of important indicators that measure California’s commitment to immigrants in all spheres of life including housing, employment, language access, legalization efforts, and more. This research offers insights on California’s diverse population of immigrants, as well as recommended steps to improve immigrant integration and further California’s standing as a welcoming and immigrant-inclusive state.

About the authors:

Post by Shannon Camacho, ERI Data Analyst and Carolina Otero, PhD. Student, USC Sociology