A Spatial Perspective on Mexican Immigration since 1970

Jeffrey Napierala, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)

The changing distribution of Mexican immigrants in the United States has received substantial attention, but few researchers have considered the role that spatial processes have played in its development. This paper will examine how Mexican immigration has unfolded over time and across geographic space. Maps are used descriptively to examine their spatial distribution and multilevel models with spatial lags are used to statistically test for spatial effects. Results indicate that strong spatial effects exist at the county level. As expected, Mexican immigrants have dispersed from existing concentrations to adjacent areas over time. The spatial effects of social and economic covariates will also be considered.