Debating Contemporary Immigration and the Uses of History
Part 1: Comparing Secondary Sources
Each of the following secondary sources was written by a scholar of contemporary immigration politics. In these selections, the authors draw comparisons between the issues surrounding past generations of immigrants and the issues surrounding immigrants today. The first is from Dr. Jason Richwine, a contributing writer at the National Review and former senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation. The second text is from Leo Chavez, a professor of anthropology at the University of California–Irvine. While Richwine is interested in assimilation, immigration, and national culture, Chavez is concerned with how immigrant groups are represented in contemporary discourse.
Compare the views of these two scholars by answering the following questions. Be sure to find specific examples in the selections to support your answers.
What issues that surround Latino immigration to America does each author address?
What comparisons does each author make to historical immigration groups?
In what ways might these authors respond to each other’s work?
Based on what you have learned, what examples from American history can you think of that would support or refute each author’s argument?
