Describes the diversity of immigrants in contemporary America, including their origins and modes of adaptation of life in the United States. Immigration scholars as well as practitioners working with immigrant families get information about: (1) different immigrant types, including labor migrants, professional and entrepreneurial immigrants, and refugees and asylees; (2) patterns of settlement in the U.S. and geographic concentrations of ethnic groups; (3) occupational and economic adaptation; (4) citizenship and political participation, including changes in and the future of immigrant politics; (5) the mental health effects of immigration and migration; (6) patterns of English language acquisition, language resilience, and linguistic pluralism; (7) characteristics of second-generation Americans, selective acculturation and segmented assimilation, and approaches to identity formation; and (8) immigration and public policy issues, including immigration controls and determinants of unauthorized immigration. The present wave of immigration to the U.S. is more likely to add to rather than to subtract from the wealth and cultural vitality of the nation. Immigrants and refugees will continue to give rise to viable communities, fill positions at different levels of the economy, and add to the diversity of sounds, sights, and tastes of American cities and towns.
