Ethnic Concentration and Nonprofit Organizations: The Political and Urban Geography of Immigrant Services in Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract

This article considers the geographic distribution of nonprofit organizations serving immigrants across municipalities within the Greater Boston area in an effort to identify variations in the levels of assistance available to major foreign-born populations in the region. The analysis relies on data from the Census and the National Center for Charitable Statistics. Results suggest that geographic context matters, including immigrant settlement patterns, racial heterogeneity, and fiscal and institutional characteristics of towns and cities, in shaping availability of nonprofit resources to immigrants. These findings highlight large socio-spatial disparities in immigrant services and challenge the wisdom of devolving responsibility for such assistance to local governments and ultimately nonprofits, as new entrants settle in larger numbers in areas previously unaffected by immigration and ill-prepared to address immigrant needs. The research contributes to debates on the rescaling of immigrant policy and service provision and literature on the geography of integration by engaging with scholarship in urban and political geography.

Gender, social network geographies, and low-wage employment among recent Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles

“…Yet, research shows that these resources are unevenly distributed (Joassart-Marcelli, 2013;Joassart-Marcelli & Martin, 2014;Joassart-Marcelli & Wolch, 2003). Figure 5 confirms these findings and illustrates gaps in access to nonprofit organizations claiming employment assistance or services to Latinos as their main purpose.…”

Who loses public health insurance when states pass restrictive omnibus immigration-related laws? The moderating role of county Latino density

“…Findings align with other research challenging the assumption that place-based co-ethnic density—as found in “ethnic enclaves”—is universally beneficial to health (Ebert and Ovink, 2014; Portes and Rumbaut, 2014). Though co-ethnic density may be protective in some domains, particularly with respect to resources generated within immigrant communities (Bécares, 2014; Bertrand et al, 2000; Joassart-Marcelli, 2013; Menjívar, 1997; Portes and Rumbaut, 2014), density may also trigger discrimination and policy responses that are harmful to migrant health (Chand and Schreckhise, 2015; Ebert and Ovink, 2014; Ybarra et al, 2016).…”

“…States that pass omnibus laws contain wide diversity in public support for these laws at the local level (Koralek et al, 2009; Pham, 2008). They also vary in the presence of resources for migrant populations (Bécares et al, 2012; Joassart-Marcelli, 2013; Menjívar, 1997). In some states, Medicaid/CHIP programs are highly decentralized and administered at the county level (Perreira et al, 2012); policies and procedures in county offices could exacerbate (or limit) the laws’ impacts.…”

“…For Latino citizen children in immigrant families, living in a county with high Latino density is protective against the negative effects of omnibus law passage on Medicaid/CHIP coverage. This could occur via the presence of ethnic support networks (Bécares et al, 2012; Bécares, 2014; Bertrand et al, 2000) and ethnic community-based organizations (Joassart-Marcelli, 2013) that disseminate information about the laws and children’s continuing eligibility for benefits, provide instrumental support such as transportation, and provide information about how to successfully apply for benefits (Bécares et al, 2012; Bertrand et al, 2000). If these mechanisms predominate after passage of an omnibus law, children in higher percent Latino counties may be more likely than their peers in lower percent Latino counties to stay enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP, or may re-enroll more quickly after the initial period of fear and misinformation is dispelled.…”

The Institutional Digital Divide

“…If a nonprofit does not have social media innovators in its network, then late adoption may never occur. For immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations in historic centers of immigration such as New York city, NY, or Los Angeles, CA, this may not be a problem but increasingly immigrants are residing in new gateway states and outside cities (Joassart-Marcelli, 2013). These places, for example, in rural Georgia or Tennessee, may be prone to the isolation that will work against nonprofits learning from others in their community.…”