A Theory of Immigration And Racial Stratification

Racial systems must have mechanisms for determining who is in which race for that determines where people families and other groups fit into the racial hierarchy. In the United States immigration has played an important role in shaping that hierarchy. Immigrants enter the United States and are assimilated into the dominant social organization and this process includes assimilation into the system of racial stratification.... We will focus on this latter aspect of the immigrant experience. First we briefly outline the origins of the U.S. racial system. Second we suggest ways to broaden the literature that studies race and finally we present a model for studying the relationship between immigration and racial stratification. (EXCERPT)