Speaking For Themselves: A Survey of Hispanic, Hmong, Russian, and Somali Immigrants in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Published by the Wilder Research Center

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Introduction

Why do people leave their native lands?

What draws them to a new place?

What do they find when they get there?

How do they cope, adapt, and become part of their new community?

Their stories are as varied as the places they come from and the time and place of their arrival. This survey illuminates some common, perhaps universal themes in the immigrant story, but also highlights some important and fascinating nuances for each recent "wave" of immigration to the Twin Cities area.

The impetus for this research project came from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, which commissioned the poll as part of a seven-week immigration series called "The new face of Minnesota." Funding for the study came from the Knight-Ridder Foundation.

While many surveys ask people's views about immigrants, this one asks immigrants to speak for themselves. Still other studies provide a detailed view of a few people's experiences, but without the big picture, it is difficult to know how typical they are. And finally, while many immigrant studies focus on a single group, this one compares the experiences of four major groups living in the same community. We have not found any other projects quite like this one.

Download full text (requires Adobe Acrobat, available free here).

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