The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization

With one immigrant's story, two authors analyze America's immigration system and suggest better, more human policies.

The Accidental American calls for a bold new approach to immigration: a free international flow of labor to match globalization's free flow of capital. After all, corporations are encouraged to move anywhere in the world they can maximize their earnings. People shouldn't have to risk exploitation, abuse, and even imprisonment when they try to do the same.

Activist, journalist, and immigration expert Rinku Sen and organizer Fekkak Mamdouh examine the consequences of this injustice through Mamdouh's own story. Born in Morocco, he was a waiter and union leader at Windows on the World, a restaurant in the World Trade Center. In the aftermath of September 11th, facing a rising tide of anti-immigrant bias, Mamdouh and others formed the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY) to help their colleagues fight for decent jobs and fair treatment. ROC-NY was able to unite native-born and immigrant workers, helping each group realize they were involved in a common struggle for better working conditions. The organization has since expanded nationwide.

Since 9/11, immigrants have increasingly been treated as presumptive criminals. As a counterpoint to these regressive, fundamentally un-American practices, the authors forcefully advocate more humane policies that would ease rather than restrict people's movements, coupled with proposals for reforming globalization so that both sending and receiving countries can more equitably benefit from a more mobile international labor force.

Immigrants enthusiastically contribute much more to our country than their labor. They ought to be welcomed, not marginalized. Citizenship should ultimately be determined by how willing people are to become a part of the social, civic, and political fabric of the country they live in, not by an accident of birth.

"The Accidental American gives us the context, story and analysis we need for a just immigration policy. It is a must-read." --Danny Glover, actor and activist

"If you have ever had to struggle as an outsider or a newcomer (and all of us have), this book will touch your heart. It is a poignant story that points the way forward for us all." --Van Jones, President and Founder, Green for All, and author of The Green Collar Economy

"This book vividly highlights a seldom-mentioned side of recent immigrants' experience: their willingness to struggle for better working conditions for workers of all ethnicities in their adopted nation." --Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, Bait and Switch, and Dancing in the Streets

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 09/01/2008
ISBN: 9781576754382
Pages: 264
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.12h x 6.50w x 0.87d
Award: Independent Publisher Book Awards - Bronze Medal Winner

Review Citations: Reference and Research Bk News 11/01/2008 pg. 184
Choice 08/01/2009