What do you think?
Unwelcome Strangers: American Identity and the Turn Against Immigration
Is it time for America―a country founded and forged by immigrants―to shut its doors? After decades of liberal policies that welcomed ever greater numbers of immigrants, America is seeing a surge in anti-immigration sentiment. Congressional debates, polls, incidents of violence, and the growing strength of anti-immigration groups all indicate a growing nativism. In Unwelcome Strangers, David M. Reimers enters into the emotionally charged immigration debate, looking at all sides of the argument. Who are the nativists, and are any of their views legitimate? This balanced investigation traces the history of American attitudes toward immigration and offers a new perspective on the current crisis.
The core of this book uncovers the heated arguments of the anti-immigration forces, from environmental groups that warn against the consequences of overpopulation, to economic concerns that immigrants take jobs away from Americans, to assimilationist fears that newcomers―especially from Latin America, and Asia―threaten American culture. Reimers questions these arguments while acknowledging that pro-immigration forces hurt their position by not considering whether the United States can actually absorb one million immigrants a year. Reimers sees potential solutions in English language instruction for newcomers, greater accountability of sponsors, and government intervention to counterbalance the negative economic impact some immigrants have on poor communities. Reimers outlines the many bureaucratic and practical challenges faced by the INS, from determining who gets political asylum to screening applicants for criminal records.
Reimers charts the history of U.S. immigration policy and public reaction to newcomers, from the Puritan colonists to World War II refugees. The rise of nativism that began in the 1880s culminated with the highly restrictive immigration policies of the 1920s. Reimers shows how immigrant groups have historically been targeted―whether for ethnic, racial, or religious reasons. Quakers, Catholics, and Jews were the focus of anti-immigrant sentiment as were Germans, Irish, Italians, and Asians. This history of prejudice throws light on later developments in immigration history, such as the public response to the Cuban refugee crisis, the growing proportion of Third World immigrants, and the relationship between legal and illegal immigration, right up to the battles over California's proposition 187―which proposed to restrict public assistance for aliens and their children―and major congressional legislation passed in 1996 to deal with immigration.
The core of this book uncovers the heated arguments of the anti-immigration forces, from environmental groups that warn against the consequences of overpopulation, to economic concerns that immigrants take jobs away from Americans, to assimilationist fears that newcomers―especially from Latin America, and Asia―threaten American culture. Reimers questions these arguments while acknowledging that pro-immigration forces hurt their position by not considering whether the United States can actually absorb one million immigrants a year. Reimers sees potential solutions in English language instruction for newcomers, greater accountability of sponsors, and government intervention to counterbalance the negative economic impact some immigrants have on poor communities. Reimers outlines the many bureaucratic and practical challenges faced by the INS, from determining who gets political asylum to screening applicants for criminal records.
Reimers charts the history of U.S. immigration policy and public reaction to newcomers, from the Puritan colonists to World War II refugees. The rise of nativism that began in the 1880s culminated with the highly restrictive immigration policies of the 1920s. Reimers shows how immigrant groups have historically been targeted―whether for ethnic, racial, or religious reasons. Quakers, Catholics, and Jews were the focus of anti-immigrant sentiment as were Germans, Irish, Italians, and Asians. This history of prejudice throws light on later developments in immigration history, such as the public response to the Cuban refugee crisis, the growing proportion of Third World immigrants, and the relationship between legal and illegal immigration, right up to the battles over California's proposition 187―which proposed to restrict public assistance for aliens and their children―and major congressional legislation passed in 1996 to deal with immigration.
- GenresImmigration
218 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 1998
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 23, 2021
Quality information, mediocre execution. Feels a lot like whole chapters are just prose lists of works on immigration. But then, I kind of feel that’s how books on immigration issues go: there’s a ton of information and you have to mine it to get anything useful out of it. For serious students of immigration policy only. *** 1/2
November 7, 2011
Historian David M. Reimers explores the immigration debate. His goal is to provide both sides of this hot topic. While admitting his support for maintaining high immigration numbers, Reimers does a fantastic job of covering the other side of the aisle (some would say he spends too much time there). He relays the sticking points on the topic including the economic, environmental, and criminal aspects.
The book is uneven its methodology. His first chapter blows through 100s of years of immigration history and does not seem to belong in the book. On top of that, I was wondering how this book has the word "identity" in its title, since little exploration was made of American identity itself. The book is good at outlining the politics of the 90s, an era that gave us the controversial Proposition 187. But I feel it is too outdated to be useful as a textbook on the contemporary immigration debate and its absolutely laughable as a book on the history of immigration in America. Look elsewhere.
The book is uneven its methodology. His first chapter blows through 100s of years of immigration history and does not seem to belong in the book. On top of that, I was wondering how this book has the word "identity" in its title, since little exploration was made of American identity itself. The book is good at outlining the politics of the 90s, an era that gave us the controversial Proposition 187. But I feel it is too outdated to be useful as a textbook on the contemporary immigration debate and its absolutely laughable as a book on the history of immigration in America. Look elsewhere.
Currently Reading
May 26, 2009This book traces the beginning of the anti-immigrant movement that sprang out of the environmental movement with groups like zpg and npg. Reimers also discusses this country's hostility towards immigrants and protectionist policies in general.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews