NCERA216: Latinos and Immigrants in Midwestern Communities
Statement of Issues and Justification
The integration of immigrants and new ethnic groups (particularly Latinos, as they are the largest new ethnic group in many Midwestern communities) has become increasingly important to both policymakers and practitioners across a broad range of institutions. Many rural communities in the North Central region struggle with the challenges created by growing numbers of Latinos and immigrant residents. At the same time, communities are finding that these new populations bring many assets with them and that the host communities can benefit from their presence (Decker et al. 2008; Eresman 2006; IPC 2007a & b; Mather and Pollard 2007; Strayhorn 2006). In rural parts of the Midwest, working-class immigrants are not fully incorporated in U.S. institutions and tend to be over-represented in agriculture (dairying, animal confinement operations, fruit and vegetable production, nurseries, etc.), non-durable manufacturing (particularly meatpacking in the West North Central states, but also as unskilled laborers and helpers in manufacturing and construction), and in services (fast food restaurants, retail sales, cleaning services) (Newman, 2003, Tables 3 and 4, pp. 10-11). In urban areas nation-wide, Latino males are over-represented in non-durable manufacturing, construction, food services, waste management, and to a lesser degree in retail trade. Latinas are over-represented in manufacturing and the service sector (hospitality, food services, waste management, and to a lesser degree in retail trade and social services/education) (Toussaint-Comeau et al., 2005, Figures 15 and 16, pp. 35-36).The Midwest has the third most rapidly growing Latino population in the nationafter the South and West (Kayitsinga and Martinez, 2008). Between 1990 and 2007, the Latino population in the Midwest increased by 136%. It more than doubled during this period in every Midwestern state except Michigan (99% increase) and nearly quadrupled in Minnesota. Between 1990 and 2007 the percentage increase for each state is as follows: Minnesota (279%), Iowa (265%), Nebraska (260%), South Dakota (251%), Indiana (217%), Wisconsin (189%), Missouri (187%), Kansas (159%), North Dakota (158%), Illinois (111%), Ohio (102%) and Michigan (99%). At the end of this period only North and South Dakota had fewer--considerably fewer--than 100,000 Latino residents. While the percentage growth between 2000 and 2007 was substantially less than the preceding decade, the annualized increase in numbers over this 7-year period was on a par with that of the preceding decade (See appendix A for numeric and percentage growth for all states of the North Central region). While the current economic recession may have slowed immigrant growth nationwide (IPC 2008), including the Midwest, the fact remains that the social and structural incorporation of Latinos and immigrants in the Midwest remains both a substantial opportunity and a major challenge; both of which can best be met through regional cooperation across land grant universities, community partners, and other entities.
This effort to propose a North Central Education/Extension and Research Activity (NCERA) began with the convening by the NCRCRD of a North Central Knowledge Network on Latinos and Immigrants in Midwestern Communities (October 6-7, 2008 in Clive, Iowa) to build interstate research and outreach working groups. In May 2009, a half-day meeting of NC-Temp 1176 was held in conjunction with the Cambio de Colores conference in St. Louis to revise the proposal. Some 20 persons were present and were joined by 6 persons by phone. We anticipate that this regional project will result in articles, reports, and special issues of journals that contribute to the advancement of related fields of research and provide the intellectual basis for effective practices for meeting the needs of Latino and immigrant communities. The proposed North Central Education/Extension and Research Activity (NCERA) fits the North Central regions high priority research because it will: * Encourage high quality science and foster cross-cutting multidisciplinary and multistate research and outreach (State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors, 2007, p. 32.), especially in an area in which there is limited research and considerable need and public concern. * Bring together researchers and Extension/outreach specialists with common interests and research agendas related to Latinos and immigrants in Midwestern communities to exchange information about work they are already doing and find ways to improve, expand, and collaborate on similar research projects. Simultaneously, the effort will encourage comparative studies across states and build communities of practice among Extension professionals and other change-oriented organizations working with Latinos and immigrants throughout the region. * Build institutional capacity among land grant universities by bringing together researchers and Extension professionals to cooperatively develop and teach college classes and to train both faculty and Extension staff, share research-based practices, community development models, and make all published resources publicly available. * Promote community development by training community agencies and service providers on how to build social capital and other community capitals, strengthen social networking among Latinos and immigrants and with the majority population. Trainings will use research-based materials produced by NCERA participants as well as best practices recommended by Extension professionals. * Develop plans to strengthen opportunities for obtaining funding for multistate and single-state work related to Latinos and immigrants. By building multistate research networks and communities of practice, individuals with strong research and outreach skills and knowledge will more readily come together to develop regional proposals that will be more attractive to funders than if researchers and outreach personnel from each state were to seek funding on their own. * Enhance undergraduate and graduate learning by creating classes and modules for classes that can be shared across institutions and curricula.
Priority Experiment Station objectives that relate to research and outreach activities designed to involve Latinos and immigrants in their new Midwestern communities include the following (see Guidelines for Multistate Research Activities, Revised April 2007, p. 33-34.):
1. Strengthen community and rural vitality by assessing and strengthening support services in the areas of job creation, education, health, and conflict resolution. (Social Change and Development [SC&D] objective.) This NCERA will involve researchers and Extension professionals in multistate teams. States that have areas of strength in selected programming areas will share their practices with those with emerging needs to expedite the process of better serving Latino and immigrant populations. Key focus areas would include self-employment, educational outcomes, and conflict resolution in both rural and urban communities. 2. Identify and build life-long learning opportunities for community members (SC&D objective), particularly for those with less education or whose first language is not English. Initially, we propose to focus on involving families in pre-K to high school education and in the transition to higher education. We also believe it is important to assess the effectiveness of large-scale education projects using technology, such as Plazas Comunitarias, an on-line Spanish high school degree program with support from the Mexican government and degree programs available through Monterey Tech (Instituto Tecnológico de Monterey), in increasing options for adults, but also in cementing cross-generational relations in the family around the importance of education. 3. Improve community and rural economic development including home-based and small businesses and diversified farms. Design strategies to improve social and human capital (Economic Development and Policy objective). Immigrants in particular have a high and growing entrepreneurship ratio when compared with other U.S. groups (Fairlie, 2008) This tendency will be encouraged, especially through business networks and communities of practice. Extensive research documents the economic and social contributions of entrepreneurs to individual, family, and community well-being. Factors such as resiliency, resourcefulness, and self-reliance are dominant explanatory variables of successful entrepreneurial ventures. Educational institutions, technical assistance providers, and community development groups continue to seek methodologies to increase the incidence of successful entrepreneurship by reducing the lag time from the inception of an idea to the launch of a new enterprise. NCERA will enable faculty and Extension professionals to become a major force in enhancing entrepreneurship among its diverse constituencies. 4. Enhance civic participation in governance structures by increasing contributions of diverse stakeholders in the assessment of social and economic opportunities in organizations and communities (SC&D). New immigrants civic involvement and volunteer engagement is significantly lower than that of registered Latino citizens, but about the same as Latino citizens not registered to vote (Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation. 2004, Charts 34 and 36). Researchers will help find the best practices and develop resources for working with new immigrants. These communities can use a good deal of assistance from Extension and other outreach entities to aid them in becoming engaged residents of their adopted communities. In addition, research and Extension/outreach members of the NCERA will conduct research on immigrants contributions to their new communities and states and develop and assess materials and curricula for engaging long-term residents of communities around the idea that immigrants in their midst can be important contributors to community vitality, rather than being a drag on community progress, as some individuals and groups argue. Civic- engagement curricula will be developed or adapted and shared across states.
The failure to take positive steps to fully involve these new population groups in rural and urban communities of the North Central region would be a missed opportunity to enhance economic and community development in places that otherwise have and will be experiencing labor shortages, continued low-wage employment and, in some cases, conflicts among new residents and with long-term residents. The full involvement of all residentsregardless of origin, race, or ethnicitycan strengthen social, human, cultural, political, natural, financial, and built capital in communities that have in many cases have experienced difficulties since the farm crisis of the 1980s. These new residents should be viewed as assets for community betterment rather than as problems (Flora and Maldonado 2006; Naples 2000). High quality research is needed to devise suitable policies and outreach programs for involving new residents in their communities of destination.
Thus, the principal stakeholders for this NCERA include residents of rural and urban Midwestern communities with expanding Latino and immigrant populations and researchers and Extension/outreach personnel who are anxious to collaborate with new and long-term residents of those communities to build on the presence of newcomers to improve community well being, as well as students at Land Grant universities interested in expanding their knowledge and understanding of immigrants and Latinos in their communities.
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