Includes bibliographical references (p. 401-445) and index.

1. Nine stories -- 2. Who they are and why they come -- The origins of immigration -- Immigrants and their types -- Overview -- 3. Moving : patterns of immigrant settlement and spatial mobility -- The pioneers -- Following in the footsteps -- Contemporary settlement patterns : a map of immigrant America -- Locational decisions of immigrant groups -- Preferred places -- Persistent ethnicity -- Conclusion : the pros and cons of spatial concentration -- 4. Making it in America : occupational and economic adaptation -- Immigrants in the American economy -- Explaining the differences : modes of incorporation -- Conclusion --

5. From immigrants to ethnics : identity, citizenship, and political participation -- In the society and not of it -- Immigrant politics at the turn of the century -- Immigrant politics today -- Making it count : citizenship acquisition -- The future of immigrant politics -- Variations within a theme -- Conclusion -- 6. A foreign world : immigration, mental health, and acculturation -- Travel and travail -- Marginality and freedom -- Early psychopathology : the eugenics approach to mental illness -- From nationality to class and context : the changed etiology of mental illness -- Immigrants and refugees : contemporary trends -- Contexts of incorporation : mental health and help seeking -- Acculturation and its discontents -- Immigration and incarceration -- Acculturation and perceptions of discrimination -- Conclusion : the major determinants of immigrant psychology --

7. Learning the ropes : language and education -- Patterns of English language acquisition in the United States -- Language diversity and resilience in the United States today -- Assimilation and linguistic pluralism in the United States -- Conclusion -- 8. Growing up American : the new second generation -- The new second generation at a glance -- Parental human capital and modes of incorporation -- The children of immigrants longitudinal study -- Where they grow up : challenges to second-generation adaptation -- Confronting the challenge -- Segmented assimilation in early adulthood -- Conclusion --

9. Religion : the enduring presence -- Yesterday and today -- Religion and modes of incorporation -- Religious diversity and change -- Religion and transnationalism -- Religion and the second generation -- Religion : linear and reactive -- The Mexican experience -- Islam -- Conclusion -- 10. Conclusion : immigration and public policy -- A game of mirrors : the public perception of immigration -- The reality underneath : the political economy of immigration -- The clash of ideology and reality -- Better policies for a better future -- Conclusion.