Overview

Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes. They are eager to learn local languages. Immigration is not a burden on social services. Border walls do not work. There is no unmanageable refugee crisis. Yet many such misinformed assumptions and harmful misconceptions pervade conversations about immigration. This timely book is a practical, evidence-based primer on immigrants and immigration. Each chapter debunks a frequently encountered claim and answers common questions. Presenting the latest findings and decades of interdisciplinary research in an accessible way, Ernesto Castañeda and Carina Cione emphasize the expert consensus that immigration is vital to the United States and many other countries around the world. Featuring original insights from research conducted in El Paso, Texas, Immigration Realities considers a wide range of places, ethnic groups, and historical eras. It provides the key data and context to understand how immigration affects economies, crime rates, and social welfare systems, and it sheds light on contentious issues such as the safety of the U.S.-Mexico border and the consequences of Brexit. This book is an indispensable guide for all readers who want to counter false claims about immigration and are interested in what the research shows.

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9780231203746

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Reviews

There’s an abyss between what people think about immigration and what the evidence shows. Immigration Realities bridges that abyss by setting the record straight on critical topics like the border, crime, assimilation, welfare, remittances, and refugees. This is an important book for all audiences. -- Zeke Hernandez, author of <i>The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers</i>

There’s an abyss between what people think about immigration and what the evidence shows. Immigration Realities bridges that abyss by setting the record straight on critical topics like the border, crime, assimilation, welfare, remittances, and refugees. This is an important book for all audiences. -- Zeke Hernandez, author of <i>The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers</i> Immigration Realities challenges common misconceptions, presenting carefully curated research to better understand immigration issues. The book excels in centering the experiences of disadvantaged migrants, building on an original survey of El Paso's Latin communities and offering fresh insights into contemporary policy debates in America and elsewhere. -- Alexander Kustov, author of <i>In Our Interest: How to Make Immigration Popular</i> Castañeda and Cione have produced a powerfully-written and persuasive statement against several of the most common stereotypes about contemporary immigration. It is a particularly timely book given the wave of nativism and anti-immigrant rhetoric now sweeping the political scene of America and other developed nations. -- Alejandro Portes, Princeton University Immigration Realities brings together a wealth of research evidence to convincingly refute prevalent misinformation about immigration. The book is accessible for students and the broader public, while also highlighting for scholars where common research practices may amplify public misperceptions. -- Abigail Fisher Williamson, author of <i>Welcoming New Americans? Local Governments and Immigrant Incorporation</i> Immigration Realities is the reality check everyone in the country should read right now. Castañeda and Cione cracked the code on how to connect the latest scientific research on immigration with a broad public who are worried about immigration but don't know who to trust for honest information. This book cuts through the deluge of immigration misinformation by patiently taking readers on a journey through some of the biggest questions our country faces and providing data-driven answers that are both compassionate and unapologetic. Immigration Realities is your ultimate immigration field guide. -- Austin Kocher, Syracuse University

Author Information

Ernesto Castañeda is the director of the Immigration Lab and the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University. His books include A Place to Call Home: Immigrant Exclusion and Urban Belonging in New York, Paris, and Barcelona (2018); Building Walls: Excluding Latin People in the United States (2019); and Reunited: Family Separation and Central American Youth Migration (2024). Carina Cione is a sociologist and writer based out of Baltimore, MD. Their work has been featured by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Trauma Care, El Paso News, and American University’s Center for Latin American & Latino Studies Working Paper Series.

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