Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2022

Document Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

International Migration Studies

Advisor

John H. Mollenkopf

Subject Categories

Migration Studies | Place and Environment | Race and Ethnicity

Keywords

immigration, integration, West Indian, residential settlement, New York City

Abstract

West Indians in New York City are as segregated today as they were 30 years ago. Not only are they segregated from the city’s Anglo population, but they are also moderately segregated from each other. As of 2019, West Indians were still concentrated in neighborhoods across the North Bronx, Central Brooklyn and South Queens. These were neighborhoods that were regarded as West Indian enclaves back in the 1980s and 1990s. As this project reviews, the experiences of non-Hispanic West Indians in the United States, specifically their neighborhood settlement patterns and the role of race in influencing their integration outcomes, have long been of scholarly discussion. My research builds on that body of knowledge, drawing attention to the specific ways in which these immigrants have used family reunion admissions to navigate their way into the United States. It also revisits the earlier research on the persistence of the distinctive residential settlement patterns of these West Indian immigrant groups by focusing on the immigration and residential patterns of three large West Indian immigrant groups: those from Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. This project illustrates that, while they have experienced socioeconomic gains, West Indians seem less successful in translating said gains into significant residential mobility and points to a more complex pattern of West Indian integration.

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