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Professor
of Sociology Robert C. Smith Quoted in Los Angeles Times
New
York, NY, October 6, 2003 – Barnard Professor of Sociology
Robert C. Smith was quoted in a Los Angeles Times article
on the Mexican immigration experience in New York.
Though Mexican immigration to New York can be dated back to
the 1920s, the past couple of decades have seen a tremendous
rise in the city’s number of immigrant Mexicans. In 2000,
the U.S. Census reported that the Mexican population had nearly
tripled since 1980. What distinguishes the Mexican immigration
experience in New York from that of other regions densely
populated by Mexican immigrants, such as California, is the
abundance of jobs available to undocumented Mexican immigrants
in New York.
While Mexican immigrants in New York face little competition
for jobs and can earn nearly six times more in a year than
they do in Mexico, census figures also indicate a grim economic
reality for the city’s Mexican immigrant population.
Nearly half of New York’s Mexican immigrants finish only
nine years of schooling or less; their median income is less
than half the average for most New Yorkers; and nearly one-third
of Mexicans in New York live at or below the poverty line.
"New Yorkers are just waking up to the fact that this
community is growing rapidly and is part of the city’s
fabric," said Smith in the Los Angeles Times article.
The city’s response to the tremendous inflow of Mexican
immigrants "is still largely unfocused, and given the
huge economic problems now looming with Mexicans in New York,
that could be a tragedy."
Robert Smith's work focuses on Mexican migration to the United
States, and to the northeast region in particular. He is also
the co-founder of MEXED, Mexican Educational Foundation of
New York, a non-profit organization that creates mentorship
networks and seeks scholarships for Mexican and Mexican-American
students in New York.
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