The integration of Nigerian and Mexican immigrants in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

Dennis D. Cordell, Southern Methodist University
Manuel Garcia y Griego, University of Texas at Arlington

This paper compares the segmented integration of Mexicans and Nigerians in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, focusing on three topics: (1) the different extent to which race and class affect socioeconomic outcomes; (2) the interrelation between ethnic background and employment; and (3) the intermarriage and social relations between immigrants and U.S.-born co-ethnics (African-Americans and Mexican-Americans). The comparisons are among groups whose socioeconomic profiles vary: Nigerians (high education and socioeconomic status, or SES), Mexicans (relatively low education and SES), and their co-ethnics (low-to-medium education and SES). The essay is based on qualitative and quantitative data from 200 households in the Mexican community, 100 households in the Nigerian community, and a representative telephone survey of 1,000 immigrants and native-born persons, supplemented by census data and field reports--all collected in the course of a National Science Foundation (USA) study in 2001-2005.