Are High-Immigrant Neighborhoods Disadvantaged in Seeking Local Government Services? Evidence from Baltimore City, Maryland.

This article examines how immigrant concentration influences the use of 311 systems—non-emergency government service request platforms—in Baltimore City from 2014 to 2019. Using longitudinal 311 request data and spatial panel regression, the study finds that immigrant concentration is associated with reduced 311 usage in high-immigrant neighborhoods predominantly composed of Latino or Black residents, but not in those with White or Asian majorities. Furthermore, the reduction in 311 requests in Latino immigrant neighborhoods became more pronounced after the 2017 presidential transition, coinciding with intensified federal immigration enforcement policies. The findings highlight the complex interplay of neighborhood racial/ethnic composition, immigration status, and political climate in shaping civic participation through e-government tools, suggesting that immigrant communities' engagement with local government services is context-dependent and influenced by broader social and policy environments.