IMMIGRATION, DOMESTIC MIGRATION, AND DEMOGRAPHIC BALKANIZATION IN AMERICA - NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE 1990S

The recent scrutiny given to the impact of post-1965 immigration to th e United States has largely overlooked an important longterm consequen ce: social and demographic divisions, across regions, that are being c reated by distinctly different migration patterns of immigrants and do mestic, mostly native-born migrants. Evidence for 1990-35 shows a cont inuation of: highly focused destinations among immigrants whose race-e thnic and skill-level profiles differ from those of the rest of the po pulation; migration patterns among domestic migrants favoring areas th at are not attracting immigrants; and accentuated domestic outmigratio n away From high immigration areas that is most evident for less educa ted and lower-income long-term residents. These separate migration pat terns are leading to widening divisions by race-ethnicity and populati on growth across broad regions of the country. These patterns are like ly to make immigrant assimilation more difficult and social and politi cal cleavages more pronounced.