Southeastern Geographer

This paper explores the social consequences of Latino immigration to a small town in rural North Carolina. Hundreds of Mexicans and other Latinos have settled in Siler City in the last 10 years to work in one of two large poultry operations. Inter-ethnic competition for these factory jobs has reverberated in the local housing market, the education system, and elsewhere in the community. The poultry industry itself has expanded and concentrated its investments in anti-union southern states such as North Carolina in recent years. The intersection of these dual geographic shifts has reinforced a highly racialized division of labor in rural North Carolina. Because Latinos in Siler City have distinct vulnerabilities due to language and cultural differences, uncertain residency and citizenship status, and scarcity of employment options, they constitute a new layer in an already stratified and segmented labor market.