The Limits of Immigrant Resilience

Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 509-46, 2024

Texas A&M University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 25-07

38 Pages Posted: 19 Sep 2024

See all articles by Huyen Pham

Huyen Pham

Texas A&M University School of Law

Natalie Cook

Texas A&M University - George Bush School of Government and Public Service

Ernesto Amaral

Texas A&M University

Raymond Robertson

Texas A&M University

Suojin Wang

Texas A&M University - Department of Statistics

Date Written: August 01, 2024

Abstract

Economists have identified important adaptations that immigrant workers have made to weather economic crises. During times of economic contraction, immigrant workers have moved across industries or geographical locations, downshifted to part-time work, and accepted lower wages to stay employed. Evidence from the Great Recession (2007–2009) shows the benefits of that economic resilience: immigrant workers were more likely than native-born workers to remain continuously employed, to have shorter periods of unemployment when they lost their jobs, and to regain jobs more quickly in the recovery period. Of course, these adaptations had significant personal costs for immigrant workers and their families, but in times of increased job competition, their resilience enabled them to keep jobs and crucial sources of income and had important, positive spillover effects for native-born workers.

Our research, however, shows important limits to that immigrant resilience. In our analysis of Current Population Survey (“CPS”) data during COVID-19, immigrant workers had worse employment outcomes than native-born workers. Looking at the restaurant industry as a case study, we found that immigrant workers were more likely to lose their jobs, keep only low-paying jobs within restaurants, or drop out of the labor market entirely, as compared to native-born workers. The sharply contrasting experiences of immigrant workers during these two crises can be explained by the nearly simultaneous and complete shutdowns that states imposed across the country during the pandemic. These shutdowns undercut any mobility and flexibility advantages that immigrant workers might otherwise have had and threatened immigrants’ already precarious economic positions. As we look to the real possibility of future pandemics, these limits on immigrant resilience counsel for increasing immigrant access to aid programs at both the federal and state levels to benefit both immigrant workers and the larger economy that relies heavily on immigrant productivity.

Suggested Citation

Pham, Huyen and Cook, Natalie and Amaral, Ernesto and Robertson, Raymond and Wang, Suojin, The Limits of Immigrant Resilience (August 01, 2024). Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 509-46, 2024, Texas A&M University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 25-07, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4961690 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4961690

Huyen Pham (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University School of Law ( email )

1515 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX Tarrant County 76102
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.tamu.edu/faculty-staff/find-people/faculty-profiles/huyen-pham

Natalie Cook

Texas A&M University - George Bush School of Government and Public Service ( email )

Ernesto Amaral

Texas A&M University ( email )

415 Academic Building
4351 TAMU
College Station, TX College Station 77843-4353
United States
979-862-4057 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ernestoamaral.com

Raymond Robertson

Texas A&M University ( email )

TAMU 4220
1004 George Bush Dr West
College Station, TX 77843
United States

Suojin Wang

Texas A&M University - Department of Statistics ( email )

Langford Building A
798 Ross St.
College Station, TX 77843-3137
United States

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