Source: Laszlo 1xbet online games login , 785-532-4959, 1xbet online games login @k-state.edu.
Pronouncer: 1xbet online games login sounds like culture.
News release prepared by: Greg Tammen, 785-532-2535, gtammen@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010

BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION IN KANSAS GO UNANSWERED, RESEARCHER FINDS

MANHATTAN — An exploration into the public discourse surrounding the integration process of immigrant 1xbet online games login in Kansas ultimately raised more questions than it answered, found one Kansas State University researcher.

Laszlo 1xbet online games login , associate professor of sociology, examined Hispanic immigration hot spots in southwest Kansas, specifically in cities with large meatpacking plants. Historically these cities, he said, see a larger increase in population as well as more cultural diversity because of the jobs offered at the packing plants.

&1xbet online games login ;I started out looking at how predominantly white communities, even with some historical diversity, embraced new immigrant workers,&1xbet online games login ; Kulcsar said. &1xbet online games login ;This is a big deal in Kansas because there really isn't a universal practice for that. What was found was that there is no good model, just more questions.&1xbet online games login ;

Along with Albert Iaroi, K-State doctoral student in sociology from Romania, Kulscar also looked at Emporia, a city away from the meatpacking triangle in southwest Kansas but also with a large concentration of minority 1xbet online games login .

&1xbet online games login ;Emporia has a well-established Hispanic community already because they came to work on the railroad 100 years ago,&1xbet online games login ; Kulcsar said. &1xbet online games login ;In 2006, though, Tyson brought about 700 Somalis to Emporia to work at its meatpacking plant.&1xbet online games login ;

With the 1xbet online games login came a new culture and religion, vastly different from that of the Hispanics, the dominant minority at the time.

Despite the fact that all the Somali 1xbet online games login carried legal work permits, researchers found many in the community rejected these new 1xbet online games login because of their outsider culture. At the same time they began to view the Mexicans as regular, hardworking people.

&1xbet online games login ;It started to become 'good immigrants' versus 'bad immigrants' based on visible things like skin color, dress and religious practices,&1xbet online games login ; Kulcsar said. &1xbet online games login ;Somalis are black; they are Muslim. The Mexicans, even though they have a different culture and language, are still Christians.&1xbet online games login ;

There was also the difference in customs, 1xbet online games login . The Somalis traveled in large groups, a customary practice in their country due to safety. Although women hold positions of authority in Emporia, the Somali workers often did not obey them since only men in Somalia are authority figures.

&1xbet online games login ;Nobody told the Somalis you don't do these things in America, and nobody told the local government about their customs and religion in advance, so nobody told the community members. The question became, 'whose job is it to educate the refugees and community,'&1xbet online games login ; Kulcsar said. &1xbet online games login ;This was a troubling finding because these larger actors -- corporations and nongovernmental charity organizations playing an important part in the settlement of the Somalis -- failed to communicate with the city government.&1xbet online games login ;

As community members in Emporia questioned the city's role in this process, they found they were given no advance information about it, 1xbet online games login .

&1xbet online games login ;Historically corporations seldom informed local government of their actions as employing immigrants was seen as a business decision and not a community issue,&1xbet online games login ; he said.

&1xbet online games login ;Immigrants are not showing up for work in a random fashion; in many cases national organizations are working with large corporations to bring these people here for jobs,&1xbet online games login ; Kulcsar said.

After Tyson eliminated more than 60 percent of its meatpacking operations in Emporia, the company relocated all 700 Somalis almost overnight to plants in other areas. 1xbet online games login this left the Mexican workers, some of whom may not have legal work permits, as the dominant minority again.

&1xbet online games login ;The question now is if the perception is going to go back to being unfavorable toward Mexicans because the Somalis are gone,&1xbet online games login ; Kulscar said.

The findings of Kulcsar and Iaroi will be published in an upcoming book, &1xbet online games login ;Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Reshaping Communities, Redrawing Boundaries,&1xbet online games login ; a collection of studies about immigrant integration in the Midwest.