Discriminatory Transformations: The Racialized Assimilation of Asian Immigrants to the U.S.

• In Event: 2207 - Racialized Assimilation of Immigrants and their Children

Abstract

Researchers understand that perceptions of discrimination provide important information to immigrants about how their social identities are perceived as they interact with the world around them. However, relatively little research has examined the ways these perceptions shape immigrant beliefs about social group boundaries and social distance. Using a nationally representative sample of Asian immigrants in the United States, this paper examines how and in what ways experiences of discrimination shape the social boundaries of the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S. Adapting social closure theory, I argue that experiences of racial and immigration-related discrimination will lead to a more conservative closure ideology i.e. beliefs about how open or closed-off their racial group should be from other racial groups. I call this whole process discriminatory transformation. In order to test my argument, I use ordered logistic regressions on a nationally representative dataset of Asian immigrants living in the U.S. The results demonstrate mixed support for my overarching hypothesis, finding that the direction of closure ideology depends on the type of discrimination experienced. Perceived racial discrimination predicts a more conservative closure ideology whereas perceived immigration-related discrimination predicts a significantly less conservative closure ideology. Discussion of what the results may mean and directions for future research follow.

Author

• Ryan Gibson, Emory University