New Americans? - Mohamed Heather Silber

The largest minority group in the United States, Latinos are also one of the most diverse. The New Americans? focuses on the three largest national origin groups--Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans--as well as two rapidly growing subgroups, Salvadorans and Dominicans, charting similarities and differences defined by country of origin, gender, tenure in the country, and language. Taking advantage of a unique natural experiment, Silber Mohamed's study also shows how the messages advanced during the 2006 protests led group members to raise immigration rights to the level of traditional concerns about economics and education and think differently about what it means to be American--and, furthermore, to think more distinctly of themselves as American.

A concise discussion of major developments in US immigration policy over the last fifty years, The New Americans? explores the varied historical experiences of the different Latino national origin groups. It also traces the evolving role of Latino social movements as a vehicle for political incorporation over the last century. In its in-depth analysis of the diversity of the Latino population, particularly in response to the politics of immigration, the book illuminates questions at the heart of American political culture: specifically, what does it mean to "become" American?

EAN: 9780700623860