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Chapter 18 - Immigration

from Part III - Problems of Discrimination and Inequality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2018

By
Cecilia Menjívar  and
Andrea Gómez Cervantes
Edited by
A. Javier Treviño
A. Javier Treviño
Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Massachusetts
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Summary

The United States is often described as a “land of immigrants,” yet not all immigrants are equally welcomed. Today, immigration is a heated topic in political campaigns and conversations, creating divisions, strong feelings, and emotions. The media depicts immigrants in negative, racialized terms dehumanizing their experiences. Such constructs fuel anti-immigration discourses and support laws that push immigrants to society's margins, making their lives invisible, dangerous, and difficult. Using a constructionism lens, we argue that negative constructions of immigrants as a problem are not representative of immigrants’ experiences or contributions to society. Immigrants contribute to American society through economic, cultural, and religious realms, yet laws and media, through constructions that are reproduced daily through technology, make it difficult for these contributions to be seen and acknowledged.

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Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems , pp. 319 - 338
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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