With the intention of better defining the population characteristics of the burgeoning Latino population, the research questions that I hope to answer are: how do permanent residency rates relate to the size of a social support infrastructure, who is providing those support services, is social mobility beyond field work or a particular rural industry happening, and what is the relative rate of mobility? For example, who are the people providing the infrastructure of social support—ex-migrants or newcomers, Latinos or non-Latinos, connected family members or newly arriving individuals with sufficient capital to begin a small business? I will compare with national level trends how demographic transitions are changing rural New York.

The most recent research on Latinization has identified that Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States and though their demographic presence is still predominately in the Southwest, there is a rapidly increasing in-migration to nontraditional receiving areas outside of California, Texas, and the other states of the U.S. Southwest. In particular, a rapid in-migration of Latinos to rural regions that would otherwise be experiencing a decline in total population has become a recent demographic trend that scholars are only beginning to uncover. I became interested in the demographic shifts in the U.S. population that translates into a larger Latino population in areas, particularly rural areas, that have not traditionally received larger numbers of Latino immigrants. My research asks, how are new destinations reacting to the processes of Latinization and to what degree are those destinations providing an infrastructure of social support to assist migrants in the adjustment process?

Data collection is now complete with the exception of a few data extractions to keep up to date with U.S. Census Current Population Survery data release. We have identified and mapped the Latino presence in New York state at both the county and census block levels of analysis. A book manuscript based partially on the research has been submitted for review at a university press and is in second revision. In addition, we have a journal article ready for submission and two Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI) publications in the queue for future publication.

The findings should supply planners, educators, and community development agencies with the necessary data to recognize the important role that immigrant communities can play in future planning and development efforts, as well as demonstrate where linkages can be made to strengthen the infrastructures that ease the settlement process. The overall intention is to initiate the study of social support infrastructures in the New York rural region and in all major receiving areas of Latino immigrants. The data will provide both policy makers and social service providers with the necessary tools to evaluate their particular communities and the special issues that their clientele are dealing with daily. In addition, the eventual outcome would ideally translate into a better quality of life for low-income Latinos and Mexicans residing in rural New York. An aim of this project is to provide the data necessary to assist community development agencies and extension agents who can link the research findings with tangible and concrete redevelopment projects that better reflect the local demographic changes.

Demographic Changes

Hatch