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Buying into the American Dream? Mexican Immigrants, Legal Status, and Homeownership in Los Angeles County

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  • Eileen Diaz McConnell
  • Enrico A. Marcelli

Abstract

Objectives. Contemporary patterns of homeownership reflect the continuing racial and ethnic stratification that exists in nearly all areas of American society. Of particular interest, especially within the context of recent immigration legislation, are the homeownership experiences of Mexican immigrants in the United States. Methods. The current study employs unique data from the 2001 Los Angeles County Mexican Immigrant Residency Status Survey (LAC‐MIRSS) to examine the association between diverse forms of legal status and homeownership for Mexican immigrants. Results. Analyses indicate that the relationship between legal status and housing tenure is not statistically significant, after accounting for economic, life‐course/life‐cycle, and assimilation/social capital characteristics. Conclusions. The lack of a significant relationship is contrary to past research, perhaps explained by the explosive growth of the subprime mortgage market in the United States; the increasing recognition by financial institutions of Latino immigrants as a largely untapped, yet emerging, market in the mortgage industry; the availability of alternative forms of identification; and the institutionalization of unauthorized immigration in Los Angeles.

Suggested Citation

  • Eileen Diaz McConnell & Enrico A. Marcelli, 2007. "Buying into the American Dream? Mexican Immigrants, Legal Status, and Homeownership in Los Angeles County," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(1), pages 199-221, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:88:y:2007:i:1:p:199-221
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00454.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gary Painter & Zhou Yu, 2004. "Leaving Gateway Metropolitan Areas: Immigrants and the Housing Market," Working Paper 8597, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    2. Mari Gallagher, 2005. "Alternative IDs, ITIN mortgages, and emerging Latino markets," Profitwise, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, issue Mar, pages 2-8.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bird, Miriam & Wennberg, Karl, 2016. "Why family matters: The impact of family resources on immigrant entrepreneurs' exit from entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 687-704.
    2. Ling Li, 2016. "Impacts of Homeownership and Residential Stability on Children’s Academic Performance in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 595-616, March.
    3. Olga Gorbachev & Brendan O'Flaherty & Rajiv Sethi, 2016. "An Ethnic Roller Coaster: Disparate Impacts of the Housing Boom and Bust," Working Papers 16-04, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.
    4. Kusum Mundra, 2020. "Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 53-81, January.
    5. Mundra, Kusum, 2013. "Minority and Immigrant Homeownership Experience: Evidence from the 2009 American Housing Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 7131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Claire E. Altman & Colleen M. Heflin & Chaegyung Jun & James D. Bachmeier, 2021. "Material Hardship Among Immigrants in the United States: Variation by Citizenship, Legal Status, and Origin in the 1996–2008 SIPP," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(3), pages 363-399, June.
    7. Wang, Jia & Winters, John V. & Yuan, Weici, 2022. "Can legal status help unauthorized immigrants achieve the American dream? Evidence from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Kusum Mundra, 2013. "Immigrant Homeownership and Immigration Status: Evidence from Spain," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 204-218, May.
    9. Luis A. Sánchez, 2018. "Segmented Paths? Mexican Generational Differences in the Transition to First-Time Homeownership in the United States," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 737-755, August.
    10. Meredith Greif, 2015. "The intersection of homeownership, race and neighbourhood context: Implications for neighbourhood satisfaction," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(1), pages 50-70, January.
    11. Durba Chakrabarty & Michael J. Osei & John V. Winters & Danyang Zhao, 2019. "Which immigrant and minority homeownership rates are gaining ground in the US?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(2), pages 273-297, April.
    12. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Kusum Mundra, 2010. "Legalization and Immigrant Homeownership: Evidence from Spain," Working Papers Rutgers University, Newark 2010-005, Department of Economics, Rutgers University, Newark.
    13. Jamie Sharpe, 2020. "A Pathway To Homeownership? Evidence From The Immigration Reform And Control Act Of 1986," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(3), pages 435-447, July.
    14. Chakrabarty, Durba & Osei, Michael J. & Winters, John V. & Zhao, Danyang, 2017. "Are Immigrant and Minority Homeownership Rates Gaining Ground in the US?," IZA Discussion Papers 10852, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Do, Chau & Gonzalez, Arturo, 2015. "Hispanic brokers and borrowers: The effect of language affinity on the price of home mortgages," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 77-86.
    16. Mundra, Kusum & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2013. "Determinants of Immigrant Homeownership: Examining their Changing Role during the Great Recession and Beyond," IZA Discussion Papers 7468, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Chenoa Flippen, 2010. "The spatial dynamics of stratification: Metropolitan context, population redistribution, and black and Hispanic homeownership," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(4), pages 845-868, November.

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