Migrants and Migration in Modern North America: Cross Border Lives, Labor Markets and Politics ed. by Dirk Hoerder and Nora Faires (review)

In this ambitious volume of nineteen chapters, the editors aim to provide "an integrated history of North American migration" from a variety of perspectives, both at close range and in the context of world migrations throughout many centuries. Guided by the complementary interests of the editors—Hoerder focusing on world migrations and Faires on specific regions of the border—the volume provides a thorough and interesting kaleidoscope of views on contemporary scholarship regarding migration/immigration and borderlands in North America.

In the lengthy introductory essay, Hoerder sets the stage by emphasizing a layered approach to his survey of migration into North America. In the manner of Annales historians, Hoerder first discusses the in-migration of native peoples before moving to migration in the context of colonial and state structures. Hoerder then discusses the historiography of migration in the context of the study of political and social borderlands from the 1920s to the 1980s. In his view, during the last two decades, a transcultural approach—understanding migration across cultural rather than geographical borders—has dominated the field. Hoerder's scope is broad; other contributors, investigating a more specific slice of the story, take a more narrative approach. Most of the essays are easy to read and their historical frame is clearly outlined.

The firm guidance of the two editors is clear in the structure of the volume—to the great benefit of readers. The three chapters in Part I provides a survey of the landscape of North American migration regions with three essays—one about the northern (Canadian) border, one about the southern border (Mexican), and one about the Caribbean as a space of migration. The six chapters in Part II describe the political developments surrounding migration across specific border zones in more detail. The chapters on Mexico (by Delia Gonzalez-deReufels) and Canada (by Faires) as countries of both immigration and emigration provide a particularly welcome addition to this volume.

In many ways, Part III, carrying the mysterious title "Complicating Narratives," contains the most interesting and varied analyses. The chapters by Susan E. Gray and Dan Killoren take up Hoerder's theme at the beginning, introducing the migration of indigenous people into the cross-border history. The chapters by Yukari Taka and Sarah-Jane Mathieu highlight the histories of Asian border crossers and nineteenth-century black immigrants in Canada, illustrating Asian exclusion and black community life in myriad ways.

Part IV adds a quartet of chapters about issues and developments within the last thirty years into the mix. The presence of Central Americans in both Mexico and in the United States and Canada, the specific place of refugees and seasonal-labor migrants, and the teaching of migration history add some final and concrete building blocks to the story so generously laid out at the beginning.

It can be difficult to keep track of the materials published every year in the burgeoning field of North American migration. Edited volumes are often not given the consideration that they deserve. This unusually rich and accessible book shows considerable, and unusual, cohesion. It should have a long lifespan on the shelves of scholars and libraries.