Internal Migration Patterns for US Foreign-Born, 1985-1990

In all US states, new arrivals of immigrants are fuelling the growth of the foreign‐born population. For a few states, though, the most recent immigrants do not arrive from abroad; many come from other parts of the US, resettling after their initial arrival. Very little information has previously been available on the number or characteristics of foreign‐born persons who migrate within the US. Using 1990 census data, this paper calculates the flow volume between states and from abroad; also, a multinomial logistic regression model of destination choice is estimated for resettlers and for migrants from abroad. There are three major findings. Firstly, Florida and California are the largest recipients of foreign‐born resettlers; New York is the biggest loser of secondary migrants. Secondly, the presence of large communities of Mexicans in California and Cubans in Florida are very attractive to both resettlers and migrants from abroad. Thirdly, immigrants that are most in need of ethnic support networks (i.e. new arrivals or immigrants with low human capital resources) are most likely to choose one of the traditional immigration states as a destination. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.