Mexican Immigrant Family Life in a Pre-Emerging Southern Gateway Community

Author

Heather Helms

Natalie D. Hengstebeck

Yuliana Rodriguez

Julia Mendez

Danielle A. Crosby

This report provides a rich picture of the lives of Mexican-American couples as they navigate parenting and family life in pre-emerging immigrant communities. Specifically, we share insights gleaned from the UNIDOS study of 120 couples with young children living in newly-formed immigrant communities across the state of North Carolina at the start of the Great Recession. Findings are consistent with other known challenges facing immigrants to the United States. However, this research sheds additional light on the pressures that may impact Latino families in preemerging communities, why families raising children in these contexts may be facing risks associated with their environments, and how policies and programs might capitalize on families’ strengths.

The National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families (Center) is supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of two financial assistance awards (Award # 90PH0028, from 2018-2023, and Award # 90PH0032 from 2023-2028) totaling $13.5 million across the two awards with 99 percent funded by ACF/HHS and 1 percentage funded by non-government sources. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy Requirement.