Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2011 Latinos, immigration policy, and geographic diversification: examining the effects of concentrated poverty, segregation, and low-skill employment on homicide Raymond Barranco Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Barranco, Raymond, "Latinos, immigration policy, and geographic diversification: examining the effects of concentrated poverty, segregation, and low-skill employment on homicide" (2011). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3437. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3437 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. LATINOS, IMMIGRATION POLICY, AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSIFICATION: EXAMINGING THE EFFECTS OF CONCENTRATED POVERTY, SEGREGATION, AND LOW-SKILL EMPLOYMENT ON HOMICIDE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Sociology by Raymond E. Barranco B.A., Louisiana State University, 2005 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2007 May, 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of my six years in graduate school. Although it is an individual work, it would have never been completed without the leadership, guidance, and support of many people. It has been a great honor for me to have worked so closely with my major professor, Dr. Edward S. Shihadeh. He has been an inspiration to me since I took his undergraduate Criminology course in 2004. For the past six years, Dr. Shihadeh has always been there to help me develop my ideas, provide invaluable research experience, and help improve my writing skills. But his help has extended beyond academics; his invaluable advice has also guided me through major milestones in my personal life. He is more than just a mentor; he is a great friend. There is no way I would have been able to learn and accomplish so much during my time in Graduate School without him. I would also like to thank my other committee members, Dr. Matthew R. Lee, Dr. Troy C. Blanchard, and Dr. William Bankston. Matt has always been willing to help me develop my ideas and challenge me to do better. Troy has been my “go-to guy” on all of my methodological and data issues. Bill has been an endless fount of favors. Dr. Tim Slack and Dr. Frederick Weil are two people who played significant roles in my first few years of Graduate School. Tim served on my Master‟s committee and provided helpful information that allowed me to eventually publish my thesis. Dr. Weil helped me gain valuable experience, both inside the classroom and as a researcher. Although they may not have had a direct impact on my graduate school experience, I am also grateful to Elizabeth Hart and Joe Murphy. Both of these individuals were so important in ii my early years of schooling. Without them and their confidence in my abilities, I never would have been able to accomplish so much academically. I would like to express heart-felt gratitude to my family for all the support and encouragement they have given me throughout the years. I would especially like to thank my parents, Chuck and Melanie Steed, for always being there for me and giving me the space I needed through tough times. Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my wife, Brandi, for her support, advice, sacrifice, and love. Brandi has supported our family throughout my years in Graduate School and I will forever be thankful for all that she has done. I also want to thank our son, Liam, for inspiring me to be a better person and to finally finish my dissertation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: IMMIGRATION, EMIGRATION, AND CHANGE IN U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY – THE EFFECT OF RECENT IMMIGRANTS ON HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATION ...................................................................................................4 2.1: Introduction ...............................................................................................................................4 2.2: Latino Immigration in the 20th Century ....................................................................................6 2.3: Latino Immigration and Crime ...............................................................................................11 2.4: Limitations of Recent Immigration-Crime Research ..............................................................15 2.5: Methods ..................................................................................................................................17 2.5.1: Independent Variables .............................................................................................19 2.5.2: Control Variables .....................................................................................................19 2.5.3: Traditional vs. New Destinations.............................................................................20 2.6: Results .....................................................................................................................................23 2.7: Discussion and Conclusion .....................................................................................................28 2.8: Additional Analysis ................................................................................................................32 CHAPTER 3: IMMIGRATION, SEGREGATION, AND U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY – EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF LATINO-LATINO INTERACTION ON HOMICIDE VICTIMIZATION ............................................................................36 3.1: Introduction .............................................................................................................................36 3.2: Latino Immigration in the 20th Century ..................................................................................40 3.3: Latino Immigration and Crime ...............................................................................................45 3.4: Limitations of Immigration-Crime Research ..........................................................................49 3.5: Latino Segregation and Crime ................................................................................................50 3.6: Concentration of Poverty and Crime ......................................................................................53 3.7: Methods ..................................................................................................................................55 3.7.2: Independent Variables .............................................................................................57 3.7.3: Control Variables .....................................................................................................60 3.8: Results .....................................................................................................................................61 3.9: Discussion and Conclusion .....................................................................................................73 CHAPTER 4: LATINOS, BLACKS, AND THE COMPETITION FOR LOW-SKILL JOBS – EXAMINING REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN THE EFFECT OF IMMIGRATION ON LOW-SKILL EMPLOYMENT .........................................79 4.1: Introduction .............................................................................................................................79 4.2: Industrial Restructuring and Segregation ...............................................................................81 4.3: Latino Immigration and Labor Competition ...........................................................................82 4.4: Economic Deprivation and Crime ..........................................................................................87 4.5: Methods ..................................................................................................................................90 iv 4.5.1: Independent Variables .............................................................................................91 4.5.2: Control Variables .....................................................................................................92 4.6: Results .....................................................................................................................................95 4.7: Discussion and Conclusion ...................................................................................................104 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................107 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................110 VITA ............................................................................................................................................125