The New Geography of United States Immigration

Abstract

New trends in immigration are changing communities across the United States. The movement of immigrants from abroad to the heart of America’s largest cities is no longer the dominant pattern as it was in the past. The restructuring of the U.S. economy and the accompanying decentralization of cities and growth of suburbs as major employment centers have shifted immigrant settlement to a new class of metropolitan areas. Emerging destinations tend to be metropolitan areas with more recent development histories, largely suburban in form. Many of the newest destination areas have little history or identity with immigration.