Becoming a citizen : incorporating immigrants and refugees in the United States and Canada / Irene Bloemraad.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bloemraad, Irene, 1972-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Citizenship--United States.

Citizenship.

United States.

Citizenship--Canada.

Canada.

Physical Description:

xv, 369 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2006]

Summary:

How can societies that welcome immigrants from around the world create civic cohesion and political community out of ethnic and racial diversity? This thought-provoking book is the first to provide a comparative perspective on how the United States and Canada encourage foreigners to become citizens. Based on vivid in-depth interviews with Portuguese immigrants and Vietnamese refugees in Boston and Toronto and on statistical analysis and documentary data, Becoming a Citizen shows that greater state support for settlement and an official government policy of multiculturalism in Canada increase citizenship acquisition and political participation among the foreign born. In contrast, the United States, long a successful example of immigrant integration, today has greater problems incorporating newcomers into the polity. While many previous accounts suggest that differences in naturalization and political involvement stem from differences in immigrants' political skills and interests, Irene Bloemraad argues that foreigners' political incorporation is not just a question of the type of people countries receive, but also fundamentally of the reception given to these immigrants. She discusses the implications of her findings for other countries, including Australia and immigrant nations in Europe.

Contents:

Introduction: the challenge of immigrant political incorporation

Diverging trajectories of political incorporation

The social nature of citizenship and participation

Structured mobilization: the role of government

The meaning of citizenship

Community organizations and political mobilization

Learning to lead and winning political office

Conclusion: multicultural citizenship.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 321-346) and index.

ISBN:

0520248988

0520248996

OCLC:

62172835

Publisher Number:

9780520248984

9780520248991

Online:

Publisher description