Fighting the "Immigrant Threat" Narrative

2021 ◽  
pp. 52-53
Author(s):  
Lola Loustaunau

Ruth Milkman's latest book is a strong scholarly response to the "immigrant threat" narrative that has been central to U.S. politics in the last decades. In Immigrant Labor and the New Precariat, the distinguished labor and migration scholar has a clear goal: to reframe the conversation about migration and increased inequality in the United States, reversing the causal relation that blames migration for the U.S. working class's current perils.

Author(s):  
Allison Varzally

This chapter focuses upon the aftermath of Operation Babylift, the mass airlift of Vietnamese children to the United states on the eve of the nation’s formal withdrawal. Arguably the most dramatic episode of the unfolding adoption and migration story, it received overwhelming media coverage, captured international attention, and pushed Vietnamese adoptees to the center of debates about the war’s end and aftermath. Although the architects of the airlift hoped it would improve the America’s reputation and benefit Vietnamese children, it stoked significant controversy among Americans and Vietnamese who accused the U.S. and Vietnamese governments of playing politics. The airlift and its controversy also displayed the creative ways in which Vietnamese families stretched across national boundaries an, demanded reunions, and disputed American efforts to contain and control the legacies of war.


2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 1150-1155

Barry R. Chiswick of George Washington University reviews, “Jewish Economies: Development and Migration in America and Beyond. Volume 1. The Economic Life of American Jewry” by Simon Kuznets and “Jewish Economies: Development and Migration in America and Beyond. Volume 2. Comparative Perspectives on Jewish Migration” by Simon Kuznets. The EconLit Abstract of the first reviewed work begins: “Three papers present Simon Kuznets's previously unpublished scholarship on Jewish economic history in the United States. Papers discuss economic structure and life of the Jews; economic structure of the U.S. Jewish population-recent trends; and economic growth of the U.S. Jewish population.” The EconLit Abstract of the second reviewed work begins: “Three previously published papers examine Jewish migration. Papers discuss immigration and the foreign born; Israel's economic development; and immigration of Russian Jews to the United States-background and structure. Index.”


2019 ◽  
pp. 427-440
Author(s):  
Rosaire Ifedi

This paper was based, in part, on some findings related to the intersection of identity and career outcomes for some African-born female academics located in the United States. In the phenomenological study, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and revealed accounts of race and gendered challenges in their experiences. However, even though they faced similar kinds of marginalization as other Black and foreign women, these participants were confronted with unique questions of identification and experiences of double discrimination. Nonetheless, the findings also suggest a persistence that was reflected in their stories of access, inclusion, and exclusion as well as their perceived role as coalition-builders. An implication for immigrant female professors in the U.S. is that their immigrant status could both facilitate as well as challenge their career paths and economic outcomes, a point equally corroborated by research on gender and migration in higher education in Europe and elsewhere.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. p227
Author(s):  
Khanh T. Dinh ◽  
Phi Loan Le

This review article focuses on Southeast Asian (SEA) families, which include Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong, and Cambodian ethnic groups, comprising about three million people in the United States. Although many differences exist among SEAs, they share experiences of war and migration-related trauma and losses that continue to have long-term effects on their families and individual well-being within and across generations. Research and practice work with SEA families and individuals requires in depth knowledge of their experiences before, during, and after migration to the U.S. This article on SEA families, although not exhaustive in its coverage, highlights the following topics: SEA populations in the U.S., migration history, resettlement and adaptation in the U.S., mental health issues of SEAs, traditional SEA family, migration and family formation, migration and family relationships, migration and family in later life, and implications for research and practice with SEA families and individuals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. McGreevey

This article examines colonial legal categories such as “national status” and “coastwise shipping” that shaped the movement of goods and people between U.S. colonies and the metropole. Focused on the case of Puerto Rican migration to the U.S. mainland in the early twentieth century, it argues that these legal categories conditioned migration patterns and that migrants, in turn, actively shaped new legal categories. Drawing on sources from both U.S. and Puerto Rican archives, this article contributes to an emerging body of literature on U.S. imperialism, law, and migration in the Americas. It shows that colonial legal categories are critical to understanding enduring migration streams to the United States that have long been embedded in imperial relationships.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas John Cooke ◽  
Ian Shuttleworth

It is widely presumed that information and communication technologies, or ICTs, enable migration in several ways; primarily by reducing the costs of migration. However, a reconsideration of the relationship between ICTs and migration suggests that ICTs may just as well hinder migration; primarily by reducing the costs of not moving.  Using data from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics, models that control for sources of observed and unobserved heterogeneity indicate a strong negative effect of ICT use on inter-state migration within the United States. These results help to explain the long-term decline in internal migration within the United States.


Author(s):  
Rosina Lozano

An American Language is a political history of the Spanish language in the United States. The nation has always been multilingual and the Spanish language in particular has remained as an important political issue into the present. After the U.S.-Mexican War, the Spanish language became a language of politics as Spanish speakers in the U.S. Southwest used it to build territorial and state governments. In the twentieth century, Spanish became a political language where speakers and those opposed to its use clashed over what Spanish's presence in the United States meant. This book recovers this story by using evidence that includes Spanish language newspapers, letters, state and territorial session laws, and federal archives to profile the struggle and resilience of Spanish speakers who advocated for their language rights as U.S. citizens. Comparing Spanish as a language of politics and as a political language across the Southwest and noncontiguous territories provides an opportunity to measure shifts in allegiance to the nation and exposes differing forms of nationalism. Language concessions and continued use of Spanish is a measure of power. Official language recognition by federal or state officials validates Spanish speakers' claims to US citizenship. The long history of policies relating to language in the United States provides a way to measure how U.S. visions of itself have shifted due to continuous migration from Latin America. Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are crucial arbiters of Spanish language politics and their successes have broader implications on national policy and our understanding of Americans.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-134

This section, updated regularly on the blog Palestine Square, covers popular conversations related to the Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict during the quarter 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018: #JerusalemIstheCapitalofPalestine went viral after U.S. president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced his intention to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. The arrest of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi for slapping an Israeli soldier also prompted a viral campaign under the hashtag #FreeAhed. A smaller campaign protested the exclusion of Palestinian human rights from the agenda of the annual Creating Change conference organized by the US-based National LGBTQ Task Force in Washington. And, UNRWA publicized its emergency funding appeal, following the decision of the United States to slash funding to the organization, with the hashtag #DignityIsPriceless.


Author(s):  
Richard F. Kuisel

There are over 1,000 McDonald's on French soil. Two Disney theme parks have opened near Paris in the last two decades. And American-inspired vocabulary such as “le weekend” has been absorbed into the French language. But as former French president Jacques Chirac put it: “The U.S. finds France unbearably pretentious. And we find the U.S. unbearably hegemonic.” Are the French fascinated or threatened by America? They Americanize yet are notorious for expressions of anti-Americanism. From McDonald's and Coca-Cola to free markets and foreign policy, this book looks closely at the conflicts and contradictions of France's relationship to American politics and culture. The book shows how the French have used America as both yardstick and foil to measure their own distinct national identity. France has charted its own path: it has welcomed America's products but rejected American policies; assailed Americ's “jungle capitalism” while liberalizing its own economy; attacked “Reaganomics” while defending French social security; and protected French cinema, television, food, and language even while ingesting American pop culture. The book examines France's role as an independent ally of the United States, but he also considers the country's failures in influencing the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. Whether investigating France's successful information technology sector or its spurning of American expertise during the AIDS epidemic, the book asks if this insistence on a French way represents a growing distance between Europe and the United States or a reaction to American globalization. Exploring cultural trends, values, public opinion, and political reality, this book delves into the complex relationship between two modern nations.


Author(s):  
Timothy Matovina

Most histories of Catholicism in the United States focus on the experience of Euro-American Catholics, whose views on social issues have dominated public debates. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the Latino Catholic experience in America from the sixteenth century to today, and offers the most in-depth examination to date of the important ways the U.S. Catholic Church, its evolving Latino majority, and American culture are mutually transforming one another. This book highlights the vital contributions of Latinos to American religious and social life, demonstrating in particular how their engagement with the U.S. cultural milieu is the most significant factor behind their ecclesial and societal impact.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document