Illegal Immigration in America: A Reference Handbook

by David W. Haines, Karen Rosenblum

Overview

Few issues have provoked as much controversy over the last decade as illegal immigration. While some argue for the need to seal America's borders and withdraw all forms of social and governmental support for illegal migrants and their children, others argue for humanitarian treatment—including legalization—for people who fill widely acknowledged needs in American industry and agriculture and have left home-country situations of economic hardship or political persecution. The study of illegal immigration necessarily confronts a broad range of migrants—from the familiar border crossers to those who enter illegally and overstay their visas, to the many unrecognized refugees who enter the country to seek protection under U.S. asylum law. The subject also demands attention to American society's responses to these newcomers—responses that often focus on limited elements of a complex issue.

A comprehensive, up-to-date review of this volatile subject, this book provides an accessible, balanced introduction to the subject. Covering the full range of illegal immigrants from Mexican border crossers to Central American refugees, illegal Europeans, and smuggled Chinese, the book considers the kind of work the migrants do and the public response to them. The work is divided into four parts: Concepts, Policies, and Numbers; The Migrants and Their Work; The Responses; and Illegal Immigration in Perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313304361
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/1999
Pages:	584
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.25(d)

About the Author

David W. Haines is associate professor of anthropology at George Mason University. His earlier books include Refugees as Immigrants: Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese in America (1989) and Refugees in America in the 1990s: A Reference Handbook (Greenwood, 1996). He is a past Chair of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Refugees and Immigrants. His other academic work focuses on Vietnamese social history, American culture and society, and refugee and immigration policy.

Karen E. Rosenblum is currently Vice-President for University Life at George Mason University. Her PhD is in sociology, and her other publications include The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, and Sexual Orientation (1996, 2nd ed. forthcoming 1999). Her publications focus on gender, language, and the social construction of minority groups.

Table of Contents

Preface
Concepts, Policies, and Numbers
Illegal Immigration: Problematic Labels, Volatile Issues by David W. Haines and Karen E. Rosenblum
Labor Migration, Family Integration,and the New America by Karen A. Woodrow-Lafield
Undocumented Immigration to the United States: Numbers, Trends, and Characteristics by Jeffrey S. Passel
Mexico and U.S. Policy on Illegal Immigration: A Fifty-Year Retrospective by Katherine M. Donato and Rebecca S. Carter
The Migrants and Their Work
Unauthorized Workers in U.S. Agricultural Work: Old Versus New Migrations by Philip Martin
Social and Cultural Bases for Undocumented Immigration into the U.S. Poultry Industry by David Griffith
Undocumented Immigrants and the Meatpacking Industry in the Midwest by Janet E. Benson
Undocumented Latino Immigrant Workers: The Los Angeles Experience by Enrico A. Marcelli
Salvadorans and Nicaraguans: Refugees Become Workers by Cecilia Menjivar
Illegal Europeans: Transients Between Two Societies by Elzbieta M. Gozdziak
Migration from the Caribbean: Economic and Political Factors versus Legal and Illegal Status by Samual Martinez
Smuggled Chinese in the Mountain of Gold by Ko-lin Chin
The Responses
Refugees at Risk: The Sanctuary Movement and Its Aftermath by Victoria Rader
Labor at Risk: The Exploitation and Protection of Undocumented Workers by David W. Haines
Rights at Risk: California's Proposition 187 by Karen E. Rosenblum
Maintaining and Reunifying Families: Two Case Studies of Shifting Legal Status by Lucy M. Cohen
Border Crossings, Border Control: Illegalized Migrants from the Other Side by Duncan Earle
Illegal Immigration in Perspective
Vanishing Acts: Illegal Immigration in Canada as a Sometime Social Issue by Norman Buchignani and Doreen Indra
Illegal Migration in Europe: Balancing National and European Union Issues by Deborah R. Altamirano
Illegal Migration in Asia: Regional Patterns and a Case Study of Nepalese Workers in Japan by Keiko Yamanaka
An Introduction to the Literature by David W. Haines
Appendix: Summary of Recent Immigration Legislation
Index

Editorial Reviews

As a reference handbook, it provides wonderful guidance for research of the topic. . . . Illegal Immigration in Americaoffers a good overview of an important topic. The collection of essays is diverse, and the book's claim to be a reference handbook is accurate.” —The Law and Politics Book Review

From the Publisher