| Beginning in the 1980's, Hispanic immigrants began to settle in regions that had, up till then, been largely undisturbed by present-day immigration. Increasingly, Hispanic immigrants are foregoing traditional gateways and settling in cities and states that have had little recent experience with post-1965 immigration. The emergence of these new destinations provides an opportunity to analyze processes of immigrant incorporation and assess in which ways these processes differ or are similar to those in traditional gateways. In this dissertation I examine the initial stages of the processes of incorporation for the Hispanic immigrant population in the cities of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, NY and assess in which ways these processes differ or are similar to those in traditional gateways. Quantitative findings from this research reveal that Hispanic immigrants in these two Hudson Valley cities exhibit higher levels of homeownership, lower levels of crowding, and lower levels of segregation than their counterparts in New York City, all elements indicative of spatial assimilation. However, qualitative data reveal that Hispanic immigrants are living in distressed urban neighborhoods characterized by deficient housing, a partial reflection of the poor infrastructure and stagnant economy in these cities, among other factors. Results from my research also indicate that the economic incorporation of Hispanic immigrants in these cities does not differ significantly from that of their counterparts in New York City. That is, immigrants in these cities also have a developed social network and internal hiring system that benefits both employees and employers. Furthermore, as their New York City counterparts, they are relegated to non-skilled; low paying jobs in the service and manufacturing sector, a result of their low levels of educational attainment and the cities constricted labor market. |
