Immigrant Age at Arrival and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identification among Mexican Americans

Analyzing microdata from the 2000 US census and the 2001-2019 American Community Surveys, we show that the age at arrival of Mexican immigrants exerts an important influence on ethnic identification not only for these immigrants but also for their US-born children. Among Mexican immigrants who arrived as children, the rate of “ethnic attrition”--or not self-identifying as Hispanic--is higher for those who migrated at a younger age. Moreover, the children of these immigrants exhibit a similar pattern: greater ethnic attrition among children whose parents moved to the United States at a younger age. Intermarriage is a key mechanism.