Rallying for Immigrant Rights

From Alaska to Florida, millions of immigrants and their supporters took to the streets across the United States to rally for immigrant rights in the spring of 2006. The scope and size of their protests, rallies, and boycotts made these the most significant events of political activism in the United States since the 1960s. This accessibly written volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of this historic moment. Perfect for students and general readers, its essays, written by a multidisciplinary group of scholars and grassroots organizers, trace the evolution and legacy of the 2006 protest movement in engaging, theoretically informed discussions. The contributors cover topics including unions, churches, the media, immigrant organizations, and immigrant politics. Today, one in eight U.S. residents was born outside the country, but for many, lack of citizenship makes political voice through the ballot box impossible. This book helps us better understand how immigrants are making their voices heard in other ways.

Kim Voss is Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is coauthor, with Rick Fantasia, of Hard Work: Remaking the American Labor Movement (UC Press), coauthor of Inequality by Design, and author of The Making of American Exceptionalism. Irene Bloemraad is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is author of Becoming a Citizen: Incorporating Immigrants and Refugees in the United States and Canada (UC Press).