Effect of Immigration on New York City Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Effect of Immigration on New York City - Article Example Traditionally, immigrants to the city have been disproportionately from the Caribbean and South America relative to the nation, which has been more likely to get immigrants from Asia and Mexico. The Caribbean comprised 33 percent of the flow of immigrants to the city, but only 12 percent of the flow to the nation in the 2005-2009 periods. (Gelfand, 03) Similarly, while South Americans comprised twelve percent of the city's flow, their share of the nation's flow was only six percent. On the other hand, just one percent of the city's flow was comprised of Mexicans (Other North America), compared to thirteen percent of the nation's immigrant flow. Likewise, Asians were 26 percent of the city's flow but comprised 42 percent of entering immigrants to the nation. (Martin, 5) The 2000s marked a resurgence in European immigration to New York City, and a decline in the share of Caribbean flows. Immigration from Europe stood at 22 percent, more than twice the level of 9 percent in the 1990s. (Vecoli, 562) Caribbean immigration, which stood at 40 percent of the total in the 1990s, dropped 7 points in the 2000s. However, the share of the Hispanic Caribbean (primarily the Dominican Republic) actually increased while there was a decline in flows from non-Hispanic Caribbean nations such as Jamaica, Haiti, and Barbados. Flows from Guyana, an English-speaking South American nation with a heavy Caribbean influence, also declined. The number of African immigrants to the city, while small, has been increasing steadily over the past three decades and comprised just over two percent of entering immigrants.