Contemporary Immigration in America

May 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Immigration policies have been a key talking point for 2016 presidential hopefuls, and the topic is unlikely to fade in the near future. This is a compact (about 15 to 30 pages per state), all-in-one reference for immigration history and policy. Each entry begins with a "Chronology and Historical Overview," in some cases starting with the settlement by nonindigenous explorers. Entries continue with "Topical Essays" on immigration issues from about 1945 to 2015 and conclude with "Notable Figures" or "Notable Groups" and a detailed bibliography. The contemporary emphasis means that the focus is on the post-World War II era, such as fear of terrorists entering the United States, current immigration policies regarding those from Mexico and Central America, and refugee crises related to civil wars and human rights abuses. The writing is unbiased. However, limited page space means that not every facet of a topic can be covered. Each bibliography points students toward further information for most topics.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
U.S. federal law has traditionally governed the immigration policy, as the federal government negotiates and enforces foreign treaties. However, immigration is not uniform across the U.S., with some states experiencing a much higher influx of immigrants and other states experiencing virtually no immigration. Recently, some states have been compelled to respond through state legislation as they have felt that the federal legislations are inadequate to address their needs or that the federal government is too slow to react to their changing situations. It may take time to define the extent states can legislate immigration law; however, public opinion is becoming increasingly divided, and political debate is turning increasingly emotional. Reference works on immigration have traditionally explored specific issues related to immigration or specific migrant communities. Resources that explore immigration on a state levelespecially those that survey all 50 statesare rare. In this work, each chapter starts with a time line of relevant events, followed by a historical perspective. Relevant contemporary issues then take up most of the section. Notable figures or groups, followed by a bibliography, end the section. As there is such a variation in the immigrant experience among the states, some essays merely summarize the experience, while essays for other states are more in depth (sometimes at the expense of excluding other issues). Recommended for survey courses at the high-school and college level.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)