American Guestworkers: Jamaicans and Mexicans in the U.S. Labor Market

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JAMAICANS AND MEXICANS IN฀THE U.S.฀LABOR฀MARKET A M E R I C A N G U E S T W O R K E R S DAVID฀GRIFFITH Unlike the pundits who debate immigration policy within the context of border security or labor markets, David Griffith focuses on the history and evolution of the H-2 program, examining the efficacy of actual guestworker policies and their effects on migrant workers. The value of American Guestworkers lies in the author’s argument that local history can influence global processes. Throughout the book, Griffith proves his point by moving effortlessly between analysis of the local and national issues related to the H-2 program.” —Elzbieta M. Gozdziak, Georgetown University The H-2 program, originally based in Florida, is the longest-running labor-importation program in the country . Over the course of a quarter-century of research, Griffith studied rural labor processes and their national and international effects. In this book, he examines the socioeconomic effects of the H-2 program on both the areas where the laborers work and the areas they are from, and, taking a uniquely humanitarian stance, he considers the effects of the program on the laborers themselves. David Griffith is Professor of Anthropology at East Carolina University. He is also the author of The Estuary’s Gift: An Atlantic Coast Biography (Penn State, 1999). rural studies series THE฀PENNSYLVANIA฀STATE฀UNIVERSITY฀PRESS UNIVERSITY฀PARK,฀PENNSYLVANIA WWW.PSUPRESS.ORG A M E R I C A N ฀ G U E S T W O R K E R S JA MA ICA NS ฀ A ND฀ ME X ICA NS ฀ IN฀ THE ฀ U.S .฀ LA BOR฀ M A RK E T PENN STATE PRESS G R IF F IT H´ ˙ “´ ˙ isbn 978-0-271-03188-0 9 780271 031880 90000 ...