Book review: A Sociology of Immigration

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Department of Sociology, now named the Department of Sociology and Criminology, we are publishing a short blogpost series on books published by members of the Department. The series showcases the diverse and rich research legacy and traces an engaging history of the Department.

A Sociology of Immigration: (Re)Making Multifaceted America
by Ewa Morawska

In this ambitious book, Ewa Morawska displays her skills as an empirical and theoretical researcher. The book is a sociological study of immigrant incorporation in the United States. But it is much more than that, it is a book that historicises international migration to the United States and compares migration from the early 20th century to migration from the 1960s. It also provides a thorough and well-resourced analysis of the migrant trajectories of eight groups of migrants, from the factors that triggered their migration to their settlement and incorporation into the United States. I had not read this book for over ten years, and I am glad to discover that it has remained extremely relevant for sociologists of migration like me.

I found Ewa’s analysis of the differences between “old” immigrants (people who migrated to the US before 1965) and “new” immigrants essential to understanding how migration flows and incorporation into host societies have changed over the years. Many migration scholars, myself included, seem to do research by focusing on the immediate, the “emergency”. We publish research that discusses new types of migration, recent flows of migrants, unexplored routes and the latest violent control mechanisms. And often we fail to historicise what is happening. What were migration patterns like fifty, a hundred years ago? What has changed? What has remained the same? Am I observing a new flow, or is it just the first time I have observed it? Stopping, looking back, and recognising the value of past research is important, yet, seldom done.

Historicising our study of migration helps us move beyond a “crisis” mentality and into a situation in which we recognise that human movement has always happened with ebbs and flows. It also allows us to remember that things, be it migration control policies, strategies of migrants, or patterns of incorporation and migration, were not always the way they are right now; change does happen. Sometimes things alter for the worse, like the increasingly violent bordering of the countries in the Global North. In chapter one, where Ewa compares what has changed institutionally since the 1920s, she shows that at the turn of the 20th century, the United States in many ways did not have as many restrictive and violent migration control mechanisms as it currently has. There were no detention centres, visa controls, or externalised borders (at least not how we have them now). Remembering this strengthens arguments against the current restrictive migration control systems that exist. These systems have not been around forever. Things have changed, and they can change (for the better, hopefully) again.

Other things have remained the same even though the world has changed. An example is the importance that migrants have always given to staying in touch with their pre-migration social networks. Ewa tells us about the huge volume of letters that were exchanged between Poland and the United States in the early 20th century. Even without instant and cheap communication methods, people have strived and succeeded in staying in touch with their families and communities back home to receive and provide support and sometimes, to retain control over those back home.

In the book, Ewa analyses the incorporation processes of eight groups into the United States. The first group is formed of Mexicans, Jamaicans, Koreans, Poles and Russian Jews who arrived in the US from the 1980s. She characterises these migration groups as having sustained migration as these groups already had a presence in the United States before her research. In contrast, she observes the initiating stages of migration of Hong Kong and Taiwanese global businessmen, Asian Indian professionals, and first-wave Cuban refugees. With all eight migrant groups, Ewa observes the mechanisms that triggered and sustained their international migration, their patterns of settlement, their assimilation trajectories, and the main features of the experience of the members of the second generation. She shows their wide variety of migration stories and trajectories and reminds us of all the different types of migrants that make the United States their home.

Especially important for sociologists of migration is the detail in which Ewa goes when she talks about the macro, meso, and micro factors that influence the migration decisions of each group. She shows how different cultural traditions, human capital, home-country conditions, receiving country conditions, and the migrant’s agency (among many other factors) affect the patterns of migration initiation for different groups. She then analyses how all the groups have incorporated into and changed their host society. 

I am impressed by the depth of the research and the way in which she weaved the theoretical concepts, the empirical data, and the texts to create an excellent job of comparing the experiences of the eight different groups she studies. The book is a testament to what an excellent researcher Ewa is. Her ability to gather, analyse, and write up so much information and transmit it with such clarity was also evident when she was a lecturer in the Department of Sociology.

I was lucky enough to take not only her migration but also her methodology classes. As a nervous PhD student who had never done qualitative research, I was extremely anxious about doing fieldwork, so I audited as many courses as possible. It was in Ewa’s classes that I first learned how to do interviews, observations, and text analysis. I remember that we did interviews or observations and then discussed how it went for us during class. We talked about how we approached our subjects, how the interview went, and how we had felt. Ewa created an atmosphere that allowed us to be open and vulnerable as we took our first steps as qualitative researchers. She talked to us about her research process and the mistakes she had made. In that class, I learned how valuable (and rare) it is to show humility and vulnerability in academia.

Ewa is a fantastic scholar and yet she is also warm and approachable, even as she remained an imposing presence. I remember her as a familiar presence on campus, always critical and constructive. During the PhD seminar she continuously encouraged us to publish our ideas. While this book is a classic that scholars of migration should have as a reference, Ewa’s true impact on myself and my peers was her teaching and academic example.

by Dr Alejandra Díaz de León

November 2024

• Essex Sociology celebrates 60 years