Immigrant Intergration in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods: Improving economic prospects and strengthening connections for vulnerable families

Many families in low-income urban neighborhoods face substantial hardship, financial insecurity and serious challenges to economic advancement — despite considerable work effort. This is particularly true of immigrant families, where connections to opportunities and formal services can be tenuous. This paper explores the comparative integration and financial well-being of immigrant groups in several vulnerable urban communities with an eye toward improving their economic prospects and strengthening their connections to services and supports. This analysis looks within these neighborhoods to examine the circumstances of families of different racial, ethnic, and nativity status to discuss similarities and differences in pathways to upward mobility and asset building among these groups. By holding the neighborhood context constant, the analysis focuses on the individual characteristics that are most crucial to the economic success of immigrant families and traditionally marginalized native groups.