Latin American immigrants in Indianapolis: Perceptions of prejudice and discrimination
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L a t i n Am e r i c a n i m m i g ra n t s i n I n d i a n a p o l i s : Pe rc e p t i o n s o f prejudice and discrimination
´ n d e z A l a rc ´ Antonio V. Mene o n * a n d Ka t h e r i ne B . N ova k Butler University, Indiana. *Corresponding author.
Abstract The article focuses on immigrants’ interactions with the Indiana natives, with emphasis in the city of Indianapolis and its suburbs. More specifically, this study aims at providing an understanding of the experiences of Latin American immigrants with special attention to perceptions of prejudice and discrimination and to feelings of social exclusion. A substantial proportion of Latin American immigrants interviewed indicated that they considered Indiana natives to be prejudiced and that they had personally experienced discrimination. The study reveals specific examples of discrimination experienced by the immigrants at the work place, in housing, in stores, restaurants and by various service providers. The results of the study demonstrate the relevance of the normative and power resource theories to explain prejudice and discrimination. Latino Studies (2010) 8, 93–120. doi:10.1057/lst.2010.2 Keywords: Latin American immigrants; prejudice; discrimination; Indiana; perceptions
Introduc ti on B a c k g ro u n d International immigration to Indiana has become increasingly significant in the past 20 years. According to an estimate of the US Census Bureau (2000), r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3435 Latino Studies Vol. 8, 1, 93–120 www.palgrave-journals.com/lst/
Mene´ndez Alarco´n and Novak
Indiana’s immigrant population grew by 55 per cent during the 1990s – the fourth largest increase in the nation among states with a foreign-born population of at least 50,000. Data from the 2004 American Community Survey (US Census Bureau, 2004) and other estimates (Clark and Heet, 2007) indicate that this pattern of growth has continued, particularly in Indianapolis, the state capital. According to these studies about 4 per cent of Indiana residents were born outside of the United States and 80,000 of these individuals entered the country between 1999 and 2004. Consistent with what is occurring in the rest of the United States, the nature of the immigrant population is shifting. Whereas international immigrants in Indiana once originated largely from Europe and Canada, they are now making their way from Latin America, Asia and India. As in many areas of the Midwest, the greatest increase has been in immigrants from Latin America. Indeed, census figures indicate that the Hispanic population in the Indianapolis area has increased by 294 per cent from a total of 8450 in 1990 to 33,290 in 2000 (US Census Bureau, 2000). Several help agencies and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (IDWD-IBRC, 2006) suggest that the figure provided by the census was underestimated. Recent studies suggest that the number of undocumented immigrants may even have been as high as 85,000 by 2005 (Passel, 2006). The Indiana Business Research Center, based on official data from the US
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