Education

Fullerton’s Immigrant Families are Racially Diverse and Long-Settled, Not New Arrivals, New USC Data Shows

By on • ( 4 Comments )

New data estimates, from USC Equity Research Institute, of undocumented Fullertonians and their U.S. citizen relatives tell a story of a racially diverse population that is deeply settled, connected to thousands of U.S. citizens, and woven into the city’s fabric. Far from the stereotypes that dominate national headlines, these families are long-term residents—working, studying, paying taxes, and raising U.S. citizen children in Fullerton for decades.

Undocumented Fullertonians are racially diverse.

1. 76% of Undocumented Fullertonians are Latino, 20% are Asian, 3% are White

Undocumented Fullertonians are Extremely Long-Settled in our Community

  1. THREE QUARTERS of undocumented Fullertonians have lived in the U.S. a decade or longer, arriving before the first Trump era.
  2. HALF of undocumented Fullertonians have lived in the U.S. twenty years or longer, arriving well before the Obama era.

Source: USC Equity Research Institute analysis of 2023 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) micro data from IPUMS USA and the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation. All values are estimates and subject to error.
Fullerton’s undocumented and mixed-status immigrant families are thus racially diverse and deeply rooted with three quarters having lived here for more than a decade, and half living here for more than 20 years.

Contrary to false political and media narratives, these are not young single men who just arrived in the U.S. Fullerton is a family-oriented city built on community, hard work, and shared prosperity—and Latino and Asian immigrants, and other groups, are at the heart of that story.

Ultimately, because undocumented Fullertonians are so settled in our city and connected to families, every detention or deportation in our city has consequences that affect U.S. born citizens and that also increases social and financial pressures on schools and the city, from child welfare and housing instability, to educational delays, and significantly reduced consumer spending and reduced local sales taxes.

Because immigration enforcement generally targets men through racial and gender profiling, deportations frequently remove the main breadwinner, leaving mothers “suddenly single” and households economically unstable, which can “adultify” U.S. citizen children, forcing them to drop out of school and pushing them into the labor force at young ages.

The data and personal networks of so many of us makes clear that undocumented Fullertonians and their family members are extremely long-settled: they are our neighbors, workers, parents, students, athletes, school and community leaders, and business owners—people who have been contributing to our community for decades via their labor, by paying sales and property taxes, and by helping to shape the family-oriented dynamic nature of Fullerton.
###

Jody Agius Vallejo is Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and Associate Director of USC Equity Research Institute.
Manuel Pastor is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at USC and Director of USC Equity Research Institute.
Justin Scoggins is Senior Data Manager at USC Equity Research Institute.
Jeffer Giang is Senior Data Analyst at USC Equity Research Institute.
Support our advertisers click an ad below.

Discover more from Fullerton Observer

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Categories: Education, Local News

Tagged as: , , , , , ,

4 replies »

  1. Wow – Thank you for this study that centers in on Fullerton. Hope that everyone will attend this Tuesday, Nov 4 council meeting at 5:30 to support our council in making the right decision to allocate funds to help our local families being torn apart and terrorized right here in our town.

  2. Pingback: Citing a tight budget, Fullerton City Council votes against immigrant relief funds - Finance Funds Update

  3. A very disappointing outcome of the Nov 4 council meeting after three hours of comments from community members – each speaking for three minutes each – asking that $200,000 in available funds (from the city’s $30 million reserves) be used to help local families impacted by ICE actions. Two commentors Tony Bushala and Jack Dean – who coincidentally are funders of the three council members voting no) asked council to toss the idea which they did. Mayor Jung, and councilmembers Valencia and Dunlap voted to take no action and table the issue. Mayor Protem Shana Charles and Councilmember Ahmad Zahra sided with the community and made great comments in support. The session is worth watching for those who missed it the video of the meeting is available on the city website under “meetings & agendas tab.