Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland: Changing Social Landscapes in Middle America (Working Class in American History) - Hardcover

"Allegro and Wood have assembled an interesting and informative set of essays useful to any scholar interested in the history of immigration to the United States and its regional, local, and national implications for the present and the future. A welcome assessment of what can happen when globalization disrupts rural communities on both sides of the border."--The Journal of Southern History "This collection of well-written essays stands out because it is a unique treatment of a geographical area--the American Heartland--which has been begging to tell its story. The essays break new ground in documenting the growing diversity of the migrant experience in the United States."--Norman Caulfield, author of NAFTA and Labor in North America "An important contribution to our understanding of Latin American migration beyond the coast and borderlands. The contributors, ranging from historians to anthropologists to political scientists and sociologists, rethink and reconceptualize our traditional understanding of Latin American migration as well as the Heartland."--Kathleen Mapes, author of Sweet Tyranny: Migrant Labor, Industrial Agriculture, and Imperial Politics

This collection examines Latina/o immigrants and the movement of the Latin American labor force to the central states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa. Contributors look at outside factors affecting migration, including corporate agriculture, technology, globalization, and government. They also reveal how cultural affinities like religion, strong family ties, farming, and cowboy culture attract these newcomers to the Heartland. Throughout, essayists point to how hostile neoliberal policy reforms have made it difficult for Latin American immigrants to find social and economic stability. Filled with varied and eye-opening perspectives, Latin American Migrations to the U.S. Heartland reveals how identities, economies, and geographies are changing as Latin Americans adjust to their new homes, jobs, and communities. Contributors: Linda Allegro, Tisa M. Anders, Scott Carter, Caitlin Didier, Miranda Cady Hallett, Edmund Hamann, Albert Iaroi, Errol D. Jones, Jane Juffer, Laszlo J. Kulcsar, Janelle Reeves, Jennifer F. Reynolds, Sandi Smith-Nonini, and Andrew Grant Wood.