Ethnic Enclaves: Instrumental or Detrimental?

As immigration to the United States increases in the 21st century, immigrants (legal and illegal) arriving in America face many obstacles when transitioning into the American way of life. Because of the current economic crisis, unemployment rates have risen for immigrants from 4.7% to its new high of 7.3% in 2008. Although unemployment is an obstacle, they face issues such as ethnic prejudice, the constant fear of deportation, and wage discrimination. The latter, is an important indicator as to where these people will live. Due to the fact that most immigrants come to this country seeking financial stability, they are limited in the prospects from which to choose from when dealing with housing accommodations. Low-wage employment keeps Latinos from making independent decisions and forces them to make the choice less choice to live in ethnic enclaves. Ethnic enclaves become the final destination for most immigrants. These communities are close-knit and they also work as support groups for those that are new to this country. They are spiritual, socially, and economically motivated in helping the surrounding communities. Ethnic enclaves work not only as a security blanket for most, but they also work against the community and shield them from progressing. Assimilating and or integrating into America culture becomes that much harder. While some see ethnic enclaves as a positive transitional phase, opponents argue that ethnic enclaves limit immigrants both socially and occupationally. They are trapped and segregated in these societies, leaving them to stay in what once was considered a transition into American society. Integration and assimilation is the movement of an incoming group away from segregated immigrant communities into the residential areas of the dominant group, a pattern that has received much attention in recent demographic analysis. Due to influx of immigrants to the U.S. over the last fifty years; the issue of residential integration has become a heated topic. In America, Mexican-American immigrants show signs of successful and unsuccessful residential integration because they choose to live in ethnic enclaves. So while some argue that the decision to live in ethnic enclaves are economically based, others would have you believe that is is strictly a personal choice. Although ethnic enclaves can be a positive transition into American life, they become less productive when they are used as permanent living arrangements as opposed to a transitional phase.

Because there is sufficient research and literature on the living arrangements and assimilation of Mexican-American immigrants, we are able to track these ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles and its connection to social and cultural assimilation. Mexican immigrants reside in these communities because they want to feel more comfortable and build long lasting social ties. Many enclaves provide the resources and support necessary for successful transitions into American society. These enclaves are called “zones of transition, in that newcomers use the established ethnic networks in their adjustment to the new society. Residents of the neighborhood form close relationships with the “newcomers” which in turn makes them feel welcomed and appreciated. This provides the residents with opportunities for networking and better employment positions. There are also other benefits of these enclaves, such as the fact that they help Mexican immigrants become part of the new community and economy. In short, these types of communities provide a beneficial and facilitating transition for immigrants arriving to the U.S.
There is a drawback, because of the lack of residential integration most immigrants fail to experience cultural and social awareness. Due to the fact that these societies have large portions of its inhabitants that are immigrants there is a certain amount of outside discrimination. When growing up under these conditions, this may trigger a reactive process, where parental culture becomes a symbol of pride against external threats. When there is little and or no contact with the cultural outside their realm, these ethnic residential boundaries prevents immigrants and their children from becoming acculturated and accustomed to basic American culture. All of this usually leads to the formation of an oppositional culture, developing a deep sense of pride and preference to their own nationality. This makes them more likely to also “stick to their own kind”.

Furthermore, ethnic concentration in certain neighborhoods causes a lack of social interaction which breeds hostility and social resistance from the dominant group. These clearly segregated residential boundaries yield detrimental effects for social relations between those living in and outside of the enclave. Ethnic enclaves limit access between members of different groups, thereby discouraging social contact. This all leads to both physical distance and social isolation. This failure to residentially and socially assimilate leads to hostile reactions from the dominant society. Immigrant enclaves thus increase the permanence of minority groups, which in turn, gives rise to social psychological reactions on the part of the dominant groups. The dominant group my now feel threatened because of the great concentration of the racial groups. Consequently, the ignorance and funneled vision of the dominant members of society will cause them to discriminate against Mexicans and not welcome social integration. Research literature has also been conducted on racial conflicts in the U.S. Here, there also exist a lack of social interaction; they are instances of in your face discrimination. They can no longer be viewed as aberrations or isolated incidents, but rather are indications of unresolved racial issues in the community and society as a whole. Thus, Los Angeles only serves as a small context in observing this world-wide problem of racial tension and cultural ignorance. Because of the before mentioned, greater alienation and isolation are constant dilemmas that people of ethnicity face. These are all issues that immigrants face when coming to the “land of opportunity”. One such issue is, “sociocultural alienation” this can explain some of the behavior and decision making process that leads to segregation by the immigrants.

Alongside the discussion of social estrangement in these small communities, the sense of belonging to a greater good always comes into play. A person’s relationship to people around them also determines his or her level of social integration in the world around them. The degree in which all people impact these immigrants determines the feeling of acceptance, support and encouragement that will be needed to bring about the feeling of belonging. Therefore, the more social interaction exists between immigrants and the people outside their own confined society, the more likely it is that they will feel supported and will remain here in the United States. However, this social interaction is not just limited to those in their nucleus of people around them but to the general population. Should immigrants feel welcomed and accepted, whether it is by peers, people around their community and or the world at large? In the end it is important that they are integrated into this culture because it is important that they feel well welcomed into this society despite of the fact that they are immigrants. Ethnic subculture is needed since it is much more difficult for a minority to feel accepted by the larger campus community. Thus, enclaves that are in Los Angeles and for that matter anywhere in the U.S., are necessary means for social interaction among humans as a whole. We must all want to promote a cultural involvement while promoting a cultural involvement and a strong support group. These resources enable ethnic people, specifically Latinos, to feel more comfortable in new surroundings, and in the end this makes immigrants more successful and better equipped to take on the world.