front cover of Keeping the Immigrant Bargain
Keeping the Immigrant Bargain
The Costs and Rewards of Success in America
Vivian Louie
Russell Sage Foundation, 2012
Most nineteenth and early-twentieth-century European immigrants arrived in the United States with barely more than the clothes on their backs. They performed menial jobs, spoke little English, and often faced a hostile reception. But two or more generations later, the overwhelming majority of their descendants had successfully integrated into American society. Today's immigrants face many of the same challenges, but some experts worry that their integration, especially among Latinos, will not be as successful as their European counterparts. Keeping the Immigrant Bargain examines the journey of Dominican and Colombian newcomers whose children have achieved academic success one generation after the arrival of their parents. Sociologist Vivian Louie provides a much-needed comparison of how both parents and children understand the immigrant journey toward education, mobility, and assimilation. Based on Louie's own survey and interview study, Keeping the Immigrant Bargain examines the lives of thirty-seven foreign-born Dominican and Colombian parents and their seventy-six young adult offspring—the majority of whom were enrolled in or had graduated from college. The book shows how they are adapting to American schools, jobs, neighborhoods, and culture. Louie discovers that before coming to the United States, some of these parents had already achieved higher levels of education than the average foreign-born Dominican or Colombian, and after arrival many owned their own homes. Significantly, most parents in each group expressed optimism about their potential to succeed in the United States, while also expressing pessimism about whether they would ever be accepted as Americans. In contrast to the social exclusion experienced by their parents, most of the young adults had assimilated linguistically and believed themselves to be full participants in American society. Keeping the Immigrant Bargain shows that the offspring of these largely working-class immigrants had several factors in common that aided their mobility. Their parents were highly engaged in their lives and educational progress, although not always in ways expected by schools or their children, and the children possessed a strong degree of self-motivation. Equally important was the availability of key institutional networks of support, including teachers, peers, afterschool and other enrichment programs, and informal mentors outside of the classroom. These institutional networks gave the children the guidance they needed to succeed in school, offering information the parents often did not know themselves. While not all immigrants achieve such rapid success, this engrossing study shows how powerful the combination of self-motivation, engaged families, and strong institutional support can be. Keeping the Immigrant Bargain makes the case that institutional relationships—such as teachers and principals who are trained to accommodate cultural difference and community organizations that help parents and children learn how to navigate the system—can bear significantly on immigrant educational success.
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front cover of Kids in Cages
Kids in Cages
Surviving and Resisting Child Migrant Detention
Edited by Emily Ruehs-Navarro, Lina Caswell Muñoz, and Sarah J. Diaz
University of Arizona Press, 2024

In recent years, the plight of immigrant children has been in the national spotlight. A primary issue of concern is the experience of child migrants in detention by the U.S. government.

The authors in this volume approach the topic of child migrant detention from a range of perspectives. Some authors, particularly those who provide a legal perspective, chronicle the harms of detention, arguing that despite governmental assurances of child protection, detention is fundamentally a state-sanctioned form of violence. The social scientists in the volume have worked closely with detained youth themselves; in these chapters, authors highlight the ways in which youth survive detention, often through everyday acts of resistance and through the formation of temporary relationships. Practitioners including psychologists, activists, and faith leaders look at forms of resistance to detention. From retheorizing psychological interventions for detained youth to forming hospitality homes that act as alternatives to detention, these practitioners highlight ways forward for advocates of youth. At the heart of these narratives lies a crucial debate: the tension between harm-reduction strategies and abolition.

This interdisciplinary work brings together voices from the legal realm, the academic world, and the on-the-ground experiences of activists and practitioners.

Contributors
Stella Akello
Jessica Alaniz
Aireen Grace Andal
Samuel Arroyo
Corey Brost
Lina Caswell Muñoz
Marisa Chumil
Patricia Crowley
Iman Dadras
Sarah J. Diaz
Sandra Espinoza
Jacqueline Florian
Michael Gosch
Darlene Gramigna
Lisa Jacobs
Katherine Kaufka Walts
Corinne Kentor
Jenn M. Lilly
Kathlyn Mulcahy
Jennifer Nagda
Vida Opoku
Silvia Rodriguez Vega
Emily Ruehs-Navarro
Herlin Soto-Matute
Luis Edward Tenorio
Jajah Wu

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front cover of Kitchens of Hope
Kitchens of Hope
Immigrants Share Stories of Resilience and Recipes from Home
Linda S. Svitak
University of Minnesota Press, 2025

Culinary journeys from around the globe: recipes and stories from immigrants to the United States

Immigrants carry more than hope as they cross oceans and traverse continents to come to the United States. They hold tightly to stories and recipes, remembrances of what they left behind. Kitchens of Hope brings together these memories from contributors who hail from more than thirty countries, offering a glimpse into their kitchens and insight into their lives. This book is a celebration of people and cuisines from around the world, infused with the aromas of epazote and cardamom, the tang of fish sauce, the heat of chile peppers, and the bite of mustard greens.

With tales as compelling as the brimming bowls and overflowing platters of these foods that represent home, Kitchens of Hope features immigrants coming from vastly varied circumstances. Some arrived in the United States fleeing war and violence, others were seeking education and opportunity; some have called the United States home for years, and others have only recently arrived. Despite the differing situations that brought them here, the contributors all find comfort and tradition as they gather to share meals with family and friends. They are activists and entrepreneurs, parents and community leaders, and some are affiliated with the Minnesota-based nonprofit the Advocates for Human Rights, the organization that inspired the creation of this book.

Structured around the contributors’ personal stories of their journeys, the chapters reflect the main themes connecting them: community, resilience, opportunity, justice, hope, and celebration. In these pages, readers will find inspiration, along with more than fifty recipes, from curry, mole, biryani, and borscht, to pita, pho, sambusa, pupusas, and so much more. Welcome to the Kitchens of Hope table.

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