Poverty-related developmental-risk theories dominate accounts of uneven levels of household functioning and effects on children. But immigrant parents may sustain norms and practices--stemming from heritage culture, selective migration, and social support--that buffer economic exigencies. "Comparable" levels of social-emotional functioning in homes of foreign-born Latino mothers were observed relative to native-born Whites, despite sharp social-class disparities, but learning activities were much "weaker", drawing on a national sample of mothers with children aging from 9 to 48 months (n = 5,300). Asian-heritage mothers reported "weaker" social functioning--greater martial conflict and depression--yet "stronger" learning practices. Mothers' migration history, ethnicity, and social support helped to explain levels of functioning, after taking into account multiple indicators of class and poverty. (Contains 5 tables.)