Revisiting Ethnic Niches: A Comparative Analysis of Asian and Latino Undocumented Young Adults

• In Event: 351 - Section on Asia and Asian America Paper Session. Work, Labor, and Inequality in Asian America

Abstract

This comparative analysis of Asian and Latino undocumented young adults explores how the intersection of race and illegality may affect the labor market experiences of undocumented young adults. Based on in-depth interviews of Mexican and South Korean undocumented young adults in California, this study illustrates that access to ethnic occupational niches may be instrumental in shaping pathways into the broader labor market. While previous studies have argued that working in ethnic economies adversely affects the mobility of 1.5 and 2nd generation immigrant youth, when considering the consequential barrier of legal status, a different story emerges. I find that the primary locus of support of my Korean and Mexican respondents differ qualitatively due to the principal locations of their respective co-ethnoracial social networks, leading to divergent outcomes of incorporation into the labor market. Despite similar levels of academic and psychological resilience, Asian respondents were more likely to enter into a greater diversity of occupations compared to Latino respondents. However, the experiences of my Latino respondents varied depending on their relative connection to the non-profit undocumented student movement. My findings suggest that ethnic niches can still play a vital role in providing opportunities for material security and future upward mobility for undocumented youth and young adults. This comparative analysis expands and complicates the experience of ‘illegality’ as discussed in current literature. It highlights the importance of expanding theoretical frameworks of undocumented experience to encapsulate more nuanced understandings of this diverse population.

Author

• Esther Yoona Cho, University of California-Berkeley