Streets of Gold

Through this authoritative account of both the historical record and newer findings, the authors help to shape our thinking and policies about the fraught topic of immigration with findings such as these: Where you come from doesn't matter. The children of immigrants from El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala today are as likely to be as successful as the children of immigrants from Great Britain and Norway 150 years ago. Children of immigrants do better economically than children of those born in the U.S.--a pattern that has held for more than a century. The children of immigrants from nearly every country, especially children of poor immigrants, are more upwardly mobile than the children of US-born residents. Immigrants in the twenty-first century, especially those from groups accused of lack of assimilation (such as Mexicans and those from predominately Muslim countries) actually assimilate fastest. Immigration changes the economy in unexpected positive ways and staves off the economic decline that is the consequence of an aging population. Closing the door to immigrants harms the economic prospects of the U.S. born, the people politicians are trying to protect. More, not less, immigration will spur the American economy. Severe restrictions on immigration reduce innovation by blocking entry to future scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs. Using powerful story-telling and unprecedented research employing big data and algorithms, the authors are like dedicated family genealogists--but millions of times over. They provide a new take on American history and demographics with surprising results, especially how comparable the "golden era" of immigration is to the twenty-first century, and why many contemporary policy proposals are so misguided. -- $c Adapted from publisher's description.