A study of race, class and naturalization: are Afro-Caribbean immigrants gaining higher degrees of assimilation than Cuban immigrants through voter registration?

Using the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), this paper investigates the impact of race and ethnicity, class and naturalization on the voter registration and subsequent assimilation of second-generation Caribbean immigrants into the USA. Drawing from both classical and contemporary models of assimilation, I conduct a comparative analysis of Afro-Caribbeans and Cuban immigrants using voter registration as the primary measure of integration. Although the assimilation literature typically characterizes Cubans as upwardly mobile, this study shows that this is not a distinguishing feature for this group because Afro-Caribbeans are gaining higher levels of upward mobility compared to Cubans with respect to political incorporation. Findings suggest that race and ethnicity, class and citizenship status are all significant factors as both Cuban and Afro-Caribbean immigrants assimilate into the USA.