Linked migration systems: immigration and internal labor flows in the United States

Abstract

The relationship between immigration to and labor movements within the United States is examined using a model that links migration, occupations, production and institutional relations in the economy, and economic restructuring. The authors conclude that "native blue-collar workers have been spatially displaced by recent immigration and that the process of capital accumulation, as manifested in economic restructuring, is the driving force behind the mobility system, affecting both immigration patterns and the destination choices of white-collar workers. As a result, we suggest that previous estimates of immigrant impacts on local labor markets may be underestimated."