Books

The Latino Threat: How Alarmist Rhetoric Misrepresents Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation

Leo R. Chavez revisits his influential analysis of how fear-based narratives distort public understanding of Latino immigrants and citizens. Building on his award-winning first edition, Chavez explores how these narratives have intensified in today’s polarized political climate. This new edition is especially urgent.

Shadowed Lives

This insightful anthropological analysis humanizes a group of people too often reduced to statistics and stereotypes. The immigrants’ own voices are heard while the author’s voice raises questions about power, stereotypes, settlement, and incorporation into American society.

Covering Immigration

This provocative book gives a cultural history of the immigration issue in the United States since 1965, using popular magazine covers as a fascinating entry into a discussion of our attitudes toward one of the most volatile debates in the nation.

Covering Immigration suggests that media images not only reflect the national mood but also play a powerful role in shaping national discourse.

The Latino Threat

News media and pundits too frequently perpetuate the notion that Latinos, particularly Mexicans, are an invading force bent on reconquering land once their own and destroying the American way of life. This book contests this assumption’s basic tenets. Stories about recent immigrants show how prejudices are used to malign an entire population—and to define what it means to be American.

Anchor Babies and the Challenge of Birthright Citizenship

This book explores the question of birthright citizenship, and of citizenship in the United States writ broadly. It counters the often hyperbolic claims surrounding these so-called anchor babies. By examining this pejorative term in its political, historical, and social contexts, Chavez calls upon us to exorcise it from public discourse and work toward building a more inclusive nation.

La Amenaza Latina

Spanish edition published by El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Tijuana, Mexico

Tanto medios informativos como expertos perpetúan la idea de que los latinos. particularmente los mexicanos, son una fuerza invasora empeñada en reconquistar tierras que alguna vez fueron suyas y destruir la forma de vida estadounidense. En el presente trabajo se cuestionan los principios básicos de esta suposición, y se ofrecen datos para contrarrestar diversas ficciones sobre la presunta amenaza latina.