While Americans largely support legal immigration, this support is conditional on the basis that immigrants do not make use of public assistance. Previous generations of immigrants, such as European-origin Industrial Era immigrants, came to the United States impoverished, worked hard, and achieved the American Dream seemingly on their own. Mexican immigrants, the nation’s largest contemporary immigrant group, are often viewed with suspicion and are accused of being dependent on the government and refusing to integrate into American society the “right way.” Drawing on census and archival data on the quality of public schooling, we find that Industrial Era European immigrants, who were primarily located in the northeastern U.S., benefitted from programs and policies championed by the Americanization and Progressive movements, including substantial support provided by mainline Protestant and Catholic churches. By contrast, Mexican immigrants in the 1920s and 1930s, the majority of whom resided in Texas, had radically different experiences from their European counterparts. Mexicans in Texas were subjected to racism, segregation, labor exploitation, and intentional school failures. This resulted in tremendous generational disadvantage that persists to the current day.

Jennifer Van Hook is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Demography at Penn State University. Her research focuses on immigration patterns and trends, and how immigrants and their descendants have shaped U.S. society over time and across generations. She is the co-author of the book Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity, with James D. Bachmeier.

This event is organized by the Society for the Study of Religions.