'Racial Isolation' A Growing Phenomenon

Published January 6, 2014 at 9:20 AM PST

Realtor Tony Campos, right, Watsonville's first Latino elected official, chats with Brian Chavez, center, and Oscar Gomez at an affordable housing complex for farmworkers and their children in Watsonville, Calif., July 19, 2013. As the Golden State becomes less and less white, communities are becoming more segregated, not less. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

In Watsonville, Calif., 82 percent of residents are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants, according to the Associated Press. It’s an example of what some are calling “racial isolation,” the phenomenon of a minority group living among others of the same race and language.

In Langley Park, Md., Mattawa, Wash., Mendota, Calif. and Sweetwater, Fla., immigrants who are not citizens now make up the majority. According to the U.S. Census, in more than 100 towns and cities in the U.S., immigrants who are not citizens make up 20 percent or more of the population.

Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Watsonville business owner Amalia Espinoza about how she’s seen the city change over the years. She then turns to Brown University sociology professor John Logan to discuss what happens when a community is isolated.

Guests

Amalia Espinoza, owner of Bella Salons in Watsonville, Calif.
John Logan, sociology professor at Brown University.