Immigrant Incorporation and Fertility in New Hispanic Destinations

Daniel T. Lichter, Cornell University
Kenneth M. Johnson, University of New Hampshire
Richard N. Turner, Cornell University
Allison Churilla, University of New Hampshire

This paper evaluates comparative patterns of Hispanic fertility in new Hispanic destinations and established Hispanic gateways. Data from the 2005-2007 files of the American Community Survey (ACS) are used to address three specific objectives. First, we document recent patterns of Hispanic fertility, while illustrating the usefulness of the new fertility question (i.e., whether women had a birth in the past 12 months) now available annually on the ACS. Second, we document whether childbearing in new destinations is concentrated disproportionately among culturally and economically disadvantaged Hispanic groups. Third, we address whether patterns of differential fertility (e.g., by immigrant status, education, etc.) are consistent with new theoretical models of Hispanic assimilation and cultural incorporation. Specifically, our analyses assesses whether differential fertility is located in the demographic makeup of Latinas (i.e., social characteristics hypothesis), in the cultural context of Hispanics in new destinations (i.e., immigrant and ethnic composition of receiving areas), or both.