Crossing the immigration and race border: A critical race theory approach to immigration studies

Abstract

In this essay I discuss the conceptual and practical benefits of employing critical race theory to the field of immigration studies. It is widely acknowledged, and regrettable, that sociological research on immigration has not departed much from its original conceptual beginnings established by the Chicago School of Sociology during the 1920s and 1930s. The Chicago sociologists distinguished between newly arrived ‘immigrants’ and their children, who were identified as ‘ethnic groups.’ Research questions are still being developed that rely on the Chicagoans' theoretical categories of race, ethnicity, and immigration – categories that are treated as being mutually exclusive. While researchers focusing on the globalization of immigration have now formulated new analyses of race, social exclusion, and social inequality, research on immigration to the United States remains confined to questions concerning assimilation, acculturation, generational conflict, and social mobility. It is unfortunate that mainstream sociological research has completely ignored the groundbreaking work of critical race theory (CRT), which addresses more relevant issues, such as racial profiling, anti‐immigration sentiment, the increased militarization of the US–Mexico border, and the high number of immigrant deaths on the border. As such, CRT has much to offer sociologists in their work on immigration.