New Southern Neighbors: Latino immigration and prospects for intergroup relations between African-Americans and Latinos in the South

The 1990s witnessed unprecedented Latino immigration in the Deep South. Some researchers developed a “new destinations” perspective to characterize this migration. Historical research, however, indicates that some Mexican migrants arrived in some areas of the Deep South decades earlier and worked in African American labor environments. Other Latinos also established an early presence in the South. The impact of Latino immigration on relations between African Americans and Latinos in the South has evolved through two phases divided by the emergence of large-scale Latino immigration in the early 1990s. National, state and local policies enacted since the mid-1990s have restricted many Latino immigrants in the South, limiting their ability to develop intergroup relations in the region. Cultural origin and social class differences among the Latino population in the South also affect the development of Latino relations with African Americans. Yet, restrictions against Latino immigrants may promote solidarity with African Americans.