To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation

To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation

by Bill Ong Hing
To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation

To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation

by Bill Ong Hing

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Overview

The impetus behind California's Proposition 187 clearly reflects the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in this country. Many Americans regard today's new immigrants as not truly American, as somehow less committed to the ideals on which the country was founded. In clear, precise terms, Bill Ong Hing considers immigration in the context of the global economy, a sluggish national economy, and the hard facts about downsizing. Importantly, he also confronts the emphatic claims of immigrant supporters that immigrants do assimilate, take jobs that native workers don't want, and contribute more to the tax coffers than they take out of the system.
A major contribution of Hing's book is its emphasis on such often-overlooked issues as the competition between immigrants and African Americans, inter-group tension, and ethnic separatism, issues constantly brushed aside both by immigrant rights groups and the anti-immigrant right. Drawing on Hing's work as a lawyer deeply involved in the day-to-day life of his immigrant clients, To Be An American is a unique blend of substantive analysis, policy, and personal experience.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780814744840
Publisher: New York University Press
Publication date: 03/01/1997
Series: Critical America , #17
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 304
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Bill Ong Hing is Associate Professor of Law at Stanford Law School.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsix
Introduction1
 
1A Superior Multicultural Experience6
2A Nation of Immigrants, a History of Nativism13
3Mi Cliente y Amigo Rodolfo Martinez Padilla32
4Searching for the Truth about Immigrants and Jobs44
5How Much Do Immigrants Cost? The Methodology Wars76
6Contextualizing Immigration107
7Low-Wage Immigrants and African Americans129
8Beyond the Economic Debate: The Cultural Complaint146
9The Challenge to Cultural Pluralists: Interethnic Group Conflict and Separatism160
10A New Way of Looking at America174
11Back to Superior182
 
Notes192
Index237

What People are Saying About This

Philip Tajitsu Nash

Combining personal awareness with a scholar's detachment and an advocate's engagement, Hing has written the book you need to read if you only have time for one book on immigration this year.
—Phil Tajitsu Nash, Asian Week

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