Immigrant America: A Portrait

UCI School of Social Sciences, May 7, 2024

"In their newly released edition of Immigrant America: A Portrait (University of California Press), UCI Distinguished Professor of sociology Rubén G. Rumbaut and Alejandro Portes of both Princeton University and the University of Miami, provide their fifth decennial update of the "permanently unfinished" story of immigration to the U.S. A modern classic, considered foundational to the field, the updated work examines major periods of U.S. immigration history, the formation of distinct types of migrants, their patterns of settlement and adaptation to the American economy, society and culture, and the coming of age of the generation of their children amid unanticipated local and global events - including, over the past decade, seismic shifts in the wake of political policymaking and the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, Rumbaut reflects on the evolution of Immigrant America from its inception, alongside snapshots of how changing flows and patterns of immigration continue to transform the American mosaic."