ETHNICITY AND NATURALIZATION

This article examines whether or not ethnicity has an independent effe ct on the likelihood of immigrant naturalization using the Public Use Microdata Sample [PUMS] data from the 1980 US Census. Ethnic differenc es in the propensity to become naturalized US citizens were analysed a mong four panethnic groups and across thirty-three major ethnic groups . The results point to the continuing significance of ethnicity in the naturalization process. However, the effect of ethnicity is not as st rong as the effects of other structural factors. Three hypotheses that attempt to explain ethnic differences in the propensity for naturaliz ation were also tested. The evidence lends strong support to the force d self-protection hypothesis, but it provides no support for the discr imination hypothesis and the cultural differences hypothesis.