Immigrant Experiences: Why Immigrants Come to the United States and What They Find When They Get Here

Ewing, senior researcher at the American Immigration Council, provides a comprehensive overview of immigration to the United States in this accessible and instructive book. The work is broken into three sections, each focusing on a phase in the immigration process (“The First Steps,” “Homecomings,” “The New Ordinary”), drawing examples from the history of groups who have immigrated to the U.S. (from such places as Ireland, Italy, Mexico, China, and India) and contemporary issues and myths about immigration. He covers historical factors that have spurred immigration, including xenophobic Russian policies that prompted Jews to flee in the 1880s; the economic downtown in Ireland that began around 1815 and reached its nadir in the Great Famine; the U.S. military’s use during the Iraq war of Iraqi interpreters, many of whom were later resettled in the U.S.; and the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990, which dramatically increased the number of employment-based visas for tech workers. Drawing on academic research, Ewing makes the case that immigration is important and beneficial to United States culture and economy and dispels myths that all immigrants to the U.S. are destitute and that Mexican immigrants are hurting the economy and stealing jobs. Ewing’s compassionate and informative study is a good starting point for those who want to separate myths from facts on this controversial topic. (Aug.)