Examining the Effects of Exclusion Policies on Immigrant Assimilation Efforts

• In Event: Causes and Consequences of Contemporary Immigration Policy

Abstract

What are the effects of exclusion policies on immigrant integration efforts? To answer this question, I examine the era of the Chinese Exclusion Era (1882-1943) in the United States, exploiting the passage of numerous exclusionary policies against a single group solely on the basis of race. In this paper, I leverage a collection of digitized individual-level demographic census data to extrapolate immigration and integration measures and a novel collection of exclusion policies at the local, state and federal levels. I find that affected groups will increase their assimilation investments in order to avoid discrimination as well as to prove their belonging in the United States. I also find that local exclusion policies hamper immigrants’ integration efforts. Over time, these groups will realize their inability to become mobilized and integrated despite their efforts, leading to diminishing efforts of integration. The findings of this paper have important implications for the further discussion of the effect of exclusionary policies, the engagement of the underrepresented, and our understanding of racial/ethnic identities.

Author

• Jae Eun Kim, University of Rochester