Contemporary Conversations on Immigration in the United States: The View from Prince George's County, Maryland contextualizes the narratives of international migrants arriving to Prince George's County, Maryland from 1968 to 2009. The life course trajectories of seventy individuals and their networks, organized chronologically to include life in the country of origin, the journey, and settlement in the county, frame migration as social issue rather than social problem. Having internalized the American dream, immigrants toil to achieve upward social mobility while constructing an immigrant space that nurtures well-being. This book demonstrates that an immigrant's experience is grounded in personal, social, economic, and political spheres of influence, and reflects the complexity of migrants' stories to help demystify homogenous categorization.

By Judith Noemí Freidenberg

Introduction: Understanding the United States through the Immigrant Life Course
Part I: Contexts of Immigrant Experience
Chapter 1: The People of Prince George's County
Chapter 2: Conversations about County Identity
Part II: Testimonies of Immigrant Experience
Chapter 3: Growing Up, Making an Exit Decision, and Leaving
Chapter 4: Immigrant Journeys
Chapter 5: Life Changes in New Destinations
Part III: Globalizing the Immigrant Experience
Chapter 6: Ideology of the "Good Life"
Chapter 7: Imagined and Empirical Frontiers
Epilogue: To Continue the Conversations
Appendix 1: Immigrant Experience Interview Schedule
Appendix 2: Video Links