List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgments 1. Introduction Marta Lopez-Garza and David R. Diaz Part I. Women in the Global Economy 2. Exploitation and abuse in the garment industry: the case of the Thai slave-labor compound in El Monte Julie A. Su and Chanchanit Martorell 3. Through economic restructuring, recession, and rebound: the continuing importance of Latina immigrant labor in the Los Angeles economy Kristine M. Zentgraf Part II. Macroeconomics: 4. the promises and dilemmas of immigrant ethnic economies Tarry Hum 5. Economics and ethnicity: poverty, race, and immigration in Los Angeles county Manuel Pastor, Jr Part III. The Informal Economy in Southern California: 6. A study of the informal economy and Latina/o immigrants in Greater Los Angeles Marta Lopez-Garza 7. Labor behind the front door: domestic workers in urban and suburban households Grace A. Rosales 8. Doing business: Central American enterprises in Los Angeles Norma Stoltz Chinchilla and Nora Hamilton Part IV. Changing Political and Social Terrain: 9. Latino Street vendors in Los Angeles: heterogeneous alliances, community-based activism, and the state Clair M. Weber 10. The politics of social services for a 'model minority': the union of Pan Asian communities Linda Trinh Vo 11. Community divided: Korean American politics in post-civil unrest Los Angeles Edward J. W. Park 12. Constructing 'Indianness' in Southern California: the role of Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrants Prema Kurien 13. A new and dynamic community: the case of Monterey Park, California Timothy P. Fong 14. The politics of adaptation and the 'good immigrant': Japanese Americans and the new Chinese immigrants Leland T. Saito Part V. Ethnicity, Race, and Racism: 15. Variation in attitudes toward immigrants measured among Latino, African American, Asian, and Euro-American students Grace A. Rosales, Mona Devich Navarro and Desdemona Cardosa 16. Racialized metropolis: theorizing Asian American and Latino identities and ethnicities in Southern California ChorSwang Ngin and Rodolfo D. Torres Part VI. Social Policy: 17. Salvadoran immigrants and refugees: demographic and socioeconomic profiles Claudia Dorrington 18. Environmental logic and minority communities David R. Diaz Appendix Index.