Smuggled Chinese : clandestine immigration to the United States /

For his study, Chin (criminal justice, Rutgers) interviewed 300 illegal immigrants, most of whom live in New York's Chinatown, as well as smugglers of humans ("snakeheads") in various countries. He discusses the immigrants' reasons for leaving China (overwhelmingly for money), their methods, and their lives in the United States. Quoting liberally from the immigrants' statements, Chin creates a poignant picture of the great hardships immigrants have endured in order to pay off debts and send money home to their families. Despite their numbers, he notes, these immigrants have little impact on U.S. social systems or unemployment since they rarely use the medical facilities or schools and usually work in Chinese restaurants and Chinese garment factories. Nevertheless, Chin discusses various government plans to curb illegal immigration, surmising that, in the end, it is almost impossible to stop. Recommended for public and academic libraries.ÄKitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.