Immigrants, Refugees, and Poverty in Buffalo

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BUFFALO BRIEF March 16, 2012 Immigrants, Refugees, and Poverty in Buffalo Gretchen Sullivan University at Buffalo Law School The foreign born population of the Buffalo-Niagara Metropolitan

1 BUFFALO BRIEF March 16, 2012 Immigrants, Refugees, and Poverty in Buffalo Gretchen Sullivan University at Buffalo Law School The foreign born population of the Buffalo-Niagara Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in mid-year 2008 was about 46,605, or 5% of the population. 1 o This number represents an increase of 10.2 percent from the 2000 Census. o Meanwhile, there has been a 4.6% decrease in the native-born population of Buffalo. The increase of the foreign-born population and the estimated immigrant births suggest that immigration may be adding around 2,540 persons to the metro area s population every year, 2 even as the overall population of the metro region is decreasing. Immigration to Buffalo-Niagara is low compared to the rest of the nation. Nationwide, the number of children under five who speak a language other than English at home has more than doubled since A disproportionate amount of the foreign born population is living in poverty. 3 The foreign born population is made up of immigrants and refugees. The experiences, background and population rates of these two groups are very different. Immigrants Refugees People who have citizenship in one country, but People who are fleeing their country to attain permanent residence in another country avoid persecution or threat of death because of their ethnicity or religion Top Five Countries of Origin Are 4 Top Five Countries of Origin Are 5 Canada Burma Yemen Bhutan India Iraq China Somalia Ukraine Sudan There are 5.5 immigrants per 1,000 residents In 2011, Buffalo resettled 1,600 refugees 6 In 2001, there were 10,998 legal immigrants who indicated they intended to settle in Buffalo 7 In 2012, the expected number of refugees coming to Buffalo is 2,000 1

2 Place of Birth for Foreign Born Population in City of Buffalo (2009) Europe Asia Africa Oceania Latin America North America 8 Europe 4,194 o Northern Europe o Western Europe o Southern Europe o Eastern Europe 2,207 Asia 4,207 o Eastern Asia o South Central Asia 1,101 o South Eastern Asia 1,401** o Western Asia 720 Oceania - 29 o Australia - 15 o New Zealand 14 North America o Canada Africa 3,307 o Eastern Africa 1,352 o Mid Africa 127 o North Africa 426 o South Africa 0 o West Africa o Africa, n.e.c Latin America 3,946 o Caribbean 2,758 o Central America o South America

3 Southeast Asia Indonesia 3% Laos Malaysia Vietnam 52% Burma 23% Thailand 16% Phillipenes 3% Singapore East Africa Eritrea 7% Ethiopia 14% Other (Somalia, etc.) 65% Kenya 14% Other Bahamas 0% West Indies Trinidad/Toba go 15% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 9% Caribbean Jamaica 30% Haiti 20% Barbados 2% Cuba 10% Dominican Republic 13% 3

4 Poverty of Native and Foreign Born Citizens 9 Buffalo City, NY Cheektowaga, NY Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area Population Total 261,207 74,366 1,104,149 Income Lower than the Poverty Level 75,259 6, ,695 Native Total 242,753 69,923 1,038,425 Native: Income Lower than the Poverty Level 68,976 6, ,282 Foreign Born Total 18,454 4,443 65,724 Foreign Born: Income Lower than the Poverty Level 6, ,413 In the city of Buffalo there are 242,753 native people, of whom 28.4 are living in poverty., and 18,454 foreign born people, of whom 34.05% are living in poverty. In the town of Cheektowaga, there are 69,923 native people, of whom 9.4% are living in poverty, and 4,443 foreign born people, of whom 56% are living in poverty. In Buffalo-Niagara Falls Metro Area, there are 1,038,425 native people, of whom 13.7% are living in poverty, and 65,724 foreign born people, of whom 24.97% are living in poverty. In all areas (except Cheektowaga) there is a large disparity between the percentages of native and foreign born people living below the poverty line. One of the reasons for this disparity is the language barrier foreign born populations have to overcome. 4

5 Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months by Age and Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over 10 Buffalo City, Erie County, New York Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area Total 245,042 1,044,133 Income Below Poverty 66, , years old 19,641 36, : Speaks Only English 16,268 30, : Speaks Spanish 1,904 2, : Speaks other Indo-European Languages 241 1, : Speaks Asian Pacific Island Languages : Speaks other Languages 679 1, years old and over 47, , : Speaks Only English 37,684 88, : Speaks Spanish 5,507 6, : Speaks other Indo-European Languages 1,618 6, : Speaks Asian Pacific Island Languages 903 3, : Speaks Other Languages 1,464 2,783 5

Languages of LEP students in Buffalo Public Schools (2009-2010) 11 12 According to Tamara Alsace, director of multilingual education for Buffalo Public Schools, "The top five languages today are

6 Languages of LEP students in Buffalo Public Schools ( ) According to Tamara Alsace, director of multilingual education for Buffalo Public Schools, "The top five languages today are very different than they were five years ago. 13 While Arabic, Somali and Spanish continue to have a strong presence, Burmese, Karen, Kirundi, Nepali and Swahili have greatly increased in the city. 14 6

7 1 Metro Area Factsheets: Buffalo-Niagara, New York MSA 2 Id. 3 Census Bureau: Status Below Poverty Level in the Last 12 Months by Nativity 4 Metro Area Factsheets: Buffalo-Niagara, New York MSA Id. 7 Metro Area Factsheets: Buffalo-Niagara, New York MSA 8 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 9 Census Bureau: Status Lower than Poverty Level in the Last 12 Months by Nativity 10 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American Community Survey 11 Other languages spoken in Buffalo Public Schools: Acholi, Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Araucanian, Bassa, Belorussian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese, Creole, Dejula, Dinka, Estonian, Ewe, Farsi, French, German, Grebo, Hausa, Hebrew, Kinyarwanda, Kizigwa, Kpelle, Kurdish, Krio, Lingala, Macedonian, Loma, Mai Mai, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Mari, Moldovian, Mohawk, Nigerian, Ogoni, Oromo, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Rwandan, Serbo Croatian, Shluh, Sinhalese, Slovak, Somali, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Tagalog, Temne, Sudanese, Turkish, Ukranian, Urdu, Xhosa, Vietnamese, Yoruba, Hindi, Hmong, Indonesian, Karen, Kabyle, Kashmiri, Khmer, Kikuyu, Romanian, Rundi, Romanian. 12 Data from Buffalo Public Schools 13 Buffalo News, A Laundry List of Languages, October 16, Id. Partnership for the Public Good Main St., Suite 1200, Buffalo NY

Immigrants, Refugees, and Languages Spoken in Buffalo Deandra Fike, Subin Chung, and Emily Riordan

BUFFALO BRIEF July 14, 2015 Immigrants, Refugees, and Languages Spoken in Buffalo Deandra Fike, Subin Chung, and Emily Riordan Few Immigrants, Many Refugees According to 2000 Census Data, Buffalo ranked