Description: Is it time for America -- a country founded and forged by immigrants -- to shut its doors? After decades of liberal policies that welcomed ever greater numbers of immigrants, America is seeing a surge in anti-immigration sentiment. In Unwelcome Strangers, David M. Reimers enters the emotionally charged immigration debate, looking at all sides of the argument. Who are the nativists, and are any of their views legitimate? This balanced investigation traces the history of American attitudes toward immigration and offers a new perspective on the current crisis.

The core of this book covers the heated arguments of the anti-immigration forces, from environmental groups that warn against the consequences of overpopulation, to economic concerns that immigrants take jobs away from Americans, to assimilationist fears that newcomers -- especially from Latin America and Asia -- threaten American culture. Reimers sees potential solutions in English language instruction for newcomers, greater accountability of sponsors, and government intervention to counterbalance the negative economic impact some immigrants have on poor communities. He also outlines the many bureaucratic and practical challenges faced by the INS, from determining who gets political asylum to screening applicants for criminal records.

Reimers charts the history of U.S. immigration policy and public reaction to newcomers, from the Puritan colonists to World War II refugees. He shows how immigrant groups have historically been targeted -- whether for ethnic, racial, or religious reasons. This history of prejudice throws light on later developments in immigration history, such as the public response to the Cuban refugee crisis, thegrowing proportion of Third World immigrants, and the relationship between legal and illegal immigration, right up to the battles over California's proposition 187 -- which proposed to restrict public assistance for aliens and their children -- and major congressional legislation passed in 1996 to deal with immigration.

Combining a cogent historical analysis of the issues with an unbiased survey of current events, Reimers offers an engaging picture of what Americans think about -- and how they can approach -- this crucial issue.

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