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A Portrait Of Latino Children: The Gap With Non-Latinos In Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Alejandro Alvarez, Vishakha Agarwal, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

Latino children are one of Massachusetts' fastest-growing segments of the population. However, evidence suggests that the social and economic context in which Latino children live does not adequately support their development and overall wellbeing. Nearly a third of Latino children in the United States live in very low-opportunity neighborhoods as defined by a scale of educational, health, environmental, and socioeconomic outcomes. Compared to non-Latino children, Latinos are more likely to grow up in households below the federal poverty threshold and less likely to have a mother with at least a Bachelor's degree. The research included in this report aims to …

Sustainable Pathways For Successful Small Businesses In Chelsea, Massachusetts, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Lorna Rivera, Carolina Rojas-Pion, Daniela Bravo, Henry Chavez

Gastón Institute Publications

This report focuses on the critical role that small business owners and entrepreneurs play in the socioeconomic development of a predominantly Latino community like Chelsea, Massachusetts.

This report compiles the key findings and recommendations that resulted from conducting a qualitative study with small business owners and other individuals who play important roles in advocating for and supporting this community. Assuming an asset-based approach rather than a deficit-based one (Green & Haines, 2011), our study focuses on the skills and knowledge of small business owners and identifies a myriad of possibilities for City administrators to build upon existing practices and behaviors …

Latinx Population Hit Hard In The Covid-19 Recession: Mounting Hardships And One Big Idea For An Inclusive Recovery, Trevor Mattos, Bansari Kamdar, Phillip Granberry, Fabián Torres-Ardila

Gastón Institute Publications

Back before the COVID-19 crisis hit and the economy was relatively strong in the aggregate, Massachusetts’ Latinx population—a diverse and growing community that makes valuable economic and cultural contributions—had the lowest incomes and lowest homeownership rate among racial/ethnic groups in Massachusetts. Latinx working-age adults tended to have lower levels of educational attainment and were more likely to have limited English language proficiency. These, in part, contributed to higher levels of unemployment and food insecurity before the pandemic. Then the COVID crisis hit in March of 2020, serving to compound many of these pre-existing challenges, as Latinx workers were more likely …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Afro-Latinos, Trevor Mattos, Phillip Granberry, Quito Swan

Gastón Institute Publications

Afro-Latinx communities are critical stakeholders in Black and Latinx demographic groups, and they also make up a critical fabric of Boston, Massachusetts and the United States politically, economically and culturally. The Afro-Latinx experience sheds light on the critical intersections of race, ethnicity, culture, economics, gender, and class in not only America, but in Afro-Latinx Diasporas across the Americas and the world. Afro-Latinx individuals and institutions often face racism within broader Latinx communities and White America and are often stigmatized by their non-Latino Black counterparts. At the same time, there is a strong tradition of Afro-Latinx political advocacy, cross cultural movements …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Ecuadorians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorians. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Ecuadorians to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

State Of The Latino Non-Profit Sector In Massachusetts, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Latinos are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in Massachusetts. Between 1980 and 2017, the Massachusetts Latino population increased by 475%, with many new arrivals coming from Central and South America. In Massachusetts, the top ten Latino subgroups by population size are: Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorans, and Hondurans. These varied national origins reflect the diversity of the state’s Latino community and its breadth of strengths and needs. The Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy (Gastón Institute) estimates that by 2035, the Latino population will represent nearly 15.3% of the …

Towards A Workforce Development Action Plan In The City Of Chelsea: Community Voices, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Daniela Bravo, Henry Chavez, Lorna Rivera

Gastón Institute Publications

The mission of the Gastón Institute at UMass Boston is to inform policymakers and the public about issues vital to the state’s growing Latino community and to provide research, analysis, and information necessary for more effective public policy development. The Gastón Institute has a long track record of conducting collaborative mixed-methods research in Chelsea, especially with Latino immigrants from Central and South America. For example, in 2008-2010, Gastón researchers worked with Chelsea Public Schools to evaluate family literacy programs at five schools. Since 2016, Gastón faculty have been working with Chelsea High School and Bunker Hill Community College’s Chelsea campus …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Colombians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Colombians to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Massachusetts was home in 2017 to 918,565 Latinos, of whom 42,488, or …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Mexicans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Mexicans to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Guatemalans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Economic factors have historically affected the migration patterns of Central Americans such as Guatemalans. Prior to the 1980s, Central American migration to the United States showed a marked bipolarity. The majority of migrants were upper- and middle-class individuals who …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Cubans, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

The Gastón Institute’s 2020 Latinos in Massachusetts series focuses on the ten largest Latino populations located throughout the state. In order of size, these Latino populations are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Brazilians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Colombians, Cubans, Hondurans, and Ecuadorans. This report analyzes Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 2017 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Our descriptive analysis uses both household- and individual-level data to estimate population size and percentages and to compare Cubans to Other Latinos and Non-Latinos in the state.

Latinos In Massachusetts: Salvadorans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

A civil war in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s created a need for the United States to accept refugees, but the U.S. Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) seldom granted petitions for political asylum by Salvadorans. In response, the Cambridge City Council in1985 passed a resolution that gave sanctuary to Salvadoran and other refugees. This helped facilitate Salvadoran migration to Massachusetts. Now after several decades, the Salvadoran population mostly resides in several cities and towns in the Greater Boston area, and over 40% of their population is native born. The social and economic analysis that follows paints …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Dominicans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Since the early 1980s, there has been a notable increase in the number of Dominicans in Massachusetts due at first to international migration and later due to nativity. Dominican migration is primarily circular. Dominican migrants embody the notion of transnationalism, that is, they have ties to both the United States and the Dominican Republic. Now after several decades, nearly half of their population is native born. The largest Dominican populations in the state are in Lawrence and Boston. The social and economic analysis that follows paints a mixed picture of their incorporation into Massachusetts. Dominicans have higher labor force participation …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Brazilians, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Early Brazilian migration to Massachusetts traces itself to the 1970s, and large-scale migration began in the mid-1980s. Though earlier Brazilian migrants settled in Boston and Somerville, by 1990s Brazilians had begun to disperse to Framingham and other cities and towns across the Boston metropolitan area and on Cape Cod. Brazilians have a large unauthorized population and have few avenues to obtain citizenship. Due to their precarious legal status in the United States, many believe that the American Community Survey (ACS) estimates used for this report undercounts the Brazilian population. In 2015, the Brazilian Consulate in Boston estimates 350,000 Brazilians living …

Latinos In Massachusetts: Puerto Ricans, Phillip Granberry, Krizia Valentino

Gastón Institute Publications

Puerto Ricans are the largest Latino population in Massachusetts. They started arriving in the Connecticut River Valley after World War II to fill the state’s need for agricultural workers. Springfield has the largest population and Holyoke the largest share of Puerto Ricans in the state. This migration pattern is important because Western Massachusetts has not experienced economic growth as other parts of the state, and over 25% of Puerto Ricans in the state live there. This concentration of their population in this region shapes many of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics in this report. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico …

Latino Political Leadership In Massachusetts: 2019, Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, Christa M. Kelleher, Fabián Torres-Ardila

Gastón Institute Publications

There is very limited Latino presence in the State Senate, with one Latina State Senator in office; having five Latinos in the Senate would be proportionate to the statewide Latino population. Six Latinos serve in the 160-member House of Representatives; eighteen would be proportionate. There are no Latinos in the state’s congressional delegation.

City councilors and members of school committees account for 83% of all Latinos serving in key elected leadership positions. The top 20 cities and towns with the largest proportions of Latino residents in Massachusetts account for 57% of the Latino population in the state. Among these cities …

The Effect Of Proposed Changes In Federal Public Charge Policy On Latino U.S. Citizen Children In Massachusetts, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Phillip Granberry, Iris Gómez, Vicky Pulos

Gastón Institute Publications

We estimate the number of U.S.-born Latino children that could be potentially affected by proposed Trump Administration changes greatly expanding the scope of the “public charge” test as a basis for denying noncitizens admission to the U.S. or adjustment to lawful permanent resident status. In addition to reducing family-based immigration, the proposed rule’s association of public benefits with adverse immigration consequences is widely expected to cause a drop in public benefit participation not just by noncitizens but by their U.S. citizen children as well. If this proposed change is implemented, Latino families – which include both noncitizen families and “mixed …

Communities In Peril: The Dispersion Of Temporary Protected Status Populations Throughout Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos, Lorna Rivera

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts is estimated to have over 12,000 residents with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is a non-immigrant status granted when a country's nationals in the United States cannot return safely or, in certain circumstances, when the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. This legal status was instituted as part of the 1990 Immigration Act, which was sponsored by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. TPS beneficiaries are not removable from the United States, can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD), and may be granted travel authorization.

Recently …

The Silent Crisis Ii: A Follow-Up Analysis Of Latin@ Participation In City Government Boards, Commissions, And Executive Bodies In Boston And Chelsea, Massachusetts, James Jennings, Jen Douglas, Miren Uriarte

Gastón Institute Publications

This report provides an update on the participation of Latin@s in city government in Chelsea and Boston. Since 2001 several studies have documented a severe underrepresentation of Latin@s in policy-making bodies in government institutions that affect their lives (e.g., Hardy-Fanta, 2002; Uriarte, Jennings, & Douglas, 2014). The Silent Crisis, the 2014 study (Uriarte et al., 2014) commissioned by the Greater Boston Latin@ Network, found significant under-representation of Latin@s in the city governments of Boston, Chelsea, and Somerville. In each of the three cities, the representation of Latin@s in the population far outpaced their role in the municipal governments.

Foreign-Born Latinos In Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry

Gastón Institute Publications

This report provides a descriptive snapshot of selected demographic, economic, educational, and social indicators pertaining to foreign-born Latinos in Massachusetts. This report was prepared for the 2010 Statewide Latino Public Policy Conference organized by UMass Boston’s Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy. It is part of a larger series that covers Latinos in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in fourteen of its largest cities with the greatest concentrations of Latinos.

Even though Massachusetts has a greater percentage of foreign-born residents (14.4%) than the United States as a whole (12.5%), a lower parentage (41.0%) of Latinos in …

Changing Patterns Xvi: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underseved Borrowers & Neighborhoods In Boston, Greater Boston And Massachusetts, 2008, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

This is the sixteenth in the annual series of Changing Patterns reports prepared for the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC) by the present author. The series is aptly named: mortgage lending since 1990 has indeed been characterized by “changing patterns.” In recent years, the major focus of the series shifted from concern for fair access to credit for traditionally underserved borrowers and neighborhoods to concern for access to fair credit for these same borrowers and neighborhoods. This reflects the extent to which the problem of redlining had become overshadowed by the problem of reverse redlining, whereby areas that …

Changing Patterns Xiv: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underseved Borrowers & Neighborhoods In Boston, Greater Boston And Massachusetts, 2006, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

This is the fourteenth in the annual series of Changing Patterns reports prepared for the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC) by the present author. This year’s report, for the first time, includes the analysis of subprime lending that was previously presented in a separate annual series of Borrowing Trouble reports. The report presents information for the city of Boston, for Greater Boston, and for Massachusetts, as well as for each of the state’s fourteen counties and each of its thirty-three largest cities and towns.

The analysis is based on federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for 2006, as …

Changing Patterns Xiii: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers And Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2005, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded to include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In 2003, the report’s geographic coverage was further expanded to include a total of 108 communities. This year’s report extends coverage to all counties, regional planning areas, and federally-defined metropolitan areas in Massachusetts.

The text that follows this introduction highlights some of the most significant findings that emerge from …

Changing Patterns Xii: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers And Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2004, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded to include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In 2003, the report’s geographic coverage was further expanded to include a total of 108 communities.

The text that follows this introduction highlights some of the most significant findings that emerge from the extensive set of tables and charts that constitute the bulk of the report. Part I, together …

Changing Patterns Xi: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers & Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2003, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded t o include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In last year’s report, the geographic coverage was further expanded to include a total of 108 communities.

The text that follows this introduction highlights some of the most significant findings that emerge from the extensive set of tables and charts that constitute the bulk of the report. The …

Changing Patterns Xi: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers And Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2003, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded t o include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In last year’s report, the geographic coverage was further expanded to include a total of 108 communities.

The text that follows this introduction highlights some of the most significant findings that emerge from the extensive set of tables and charts that constitute the bulk of the report. The …

Borrowing Trouble? Iv: Subprime Mortgage Refinance Lending In Greater Boston, 2000-2002, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present report is the fourth in the annual series begun by that initial study; it extends the time period covered through 2002, and expands the number of individual cities and towns for which data on subprime refinance lending are provided to 108.

Although motivated by a concern with predatory lending, this study and its predecessors – like all of the other quantitative studies of which I am aware – analyzes and reports on lending by subprime lenders. It is therefore important to emphasize that although all predatory loans are subprime, only a fraction of subprime loans are predatory. While …

Changing Patterns X: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers And Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2002, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded to include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In this year’s report, the geographic coverage has been further expanded t o include a total of 108 communities.

This introduction is followed by ten pages of text that identify some of the most significant findings that emerge from the extensive set of tables and charts that constitute the …

Rhode Island Latinos: A Scan Of Issues Affecting The Latino Population Of Rhode Island, Miren Uriarte, María Estela Carrión, Juan Carlos Gorlier, Charles Jones, Natalie Carithers, Juan Francisco García

Gastón Institute Publications

The Latino Population has grown dramatically in Rhode Island in the last two decades. This has been particularly the case in Central Falls and Providence where Latinos make up 48% and 30% of the population, respectively. This influx has created a shift in the racial/ethnic make up of these cities and in the cultural background of large sectors of the residents.

The arrival of large numbers of persons who do not speak English and who are not familiar with the structure and practice of public services would, under any circumstance, present a challenge. But the fact that they are recent …

The Development Of Boston's Seaport District: Employment Opportunities And Community Strategies, O. Steven Quimby

Gastón Institute Publications

The development of Boston's Seaport District will create thousands of full-time employment opportunities over the next decade. To ensure equitable access to these opportunities for Boston's communities of color, it is imperative that organizations offering employment-training programs begin to take these opportunities into account now in their training efforts. The Center for Community Economic Development (CCED) at the University of Massachusetts Boston has prepared this report, The Development of Boston's Seaport District: Employment Opportunities and Community Strategies, as a step in becoming informed about these opportunities.

This study examines employment opportunities to be created in three industries projected to be …