Immigration and the Financial Crisis

Structural needs for immigrant labor in health care, restaurant, tourism, agricultural and other economic sectors, together with harsher economic circumstances in most sending countries, almost certainly ensure the continuation of large-scale immigration to the US and Australia. But in harder times, especially in the US, sustaining this immigration while managing immigrants' economic and social integration are daunting tasks. This illuminating book analyzes how well, and in what ways, the US and Australia will meet these challenges. This companion volume to Nations of Immigrants examines immigration to the US and Australia during the difficult economic times following the paralysis of financial firms and markets in New York and London in autumn 2008, quickly affecting Australia and most other OECD countries. The contributors - prominent American and Australian immigration specialists - discuss how the financial crisis has altered the nexus of domestic labor markets and immigration, how public fears spurred by harder times are affecting border protection and support for immigration, whether serious abrasions between foreign- and native-born populations are resulting, and the extent to which the politics of immigration is being transformed.

Immigration and the Financial Crisis will prove a thought provoking read for academics and students with an interest in immigration, and American and Australian policy arenas. The book will also prove an invaluable reference tool for public servants engaged in administering US and Australian immigration policies.