More than half of the 41 million foreign-born individuals in the United States today are noncitizens, half have difficulty with English, a quarter are undocumented, and many are poor. As a result, most immigrants have few opportunities to make their voices heard in the political process. Nonprofits in many cities have stepped into this gap to promote the integration of disadvantaged immigrants. They have done so despite notable constraints on their political activities, including limits on their lobbying and partisan electioneering, limited organizational resources, and dependence on...

More than half of the 41 million foreign-born individuals in the United States today are noncitizens, half have difficulty with English, a quarter are undocumented, and many are poor. As a result, most immigrants have few opportunities to make their voices heard in the political process. Nonprofits in many cities have stepped into this gap to promote the integration of disadvantaged immigrants. They have done so despite notable constraints on their political activities, including limits on their lobbying and partisan electioneering, limited organizational resources, and dependence on...

The media inform the public, help political and social actors communicate with each other, influence perceptions of pressing issues, depict topics and people in particular ways, and may shape political views and participation. Given these critical functions that the media play in society, this book asks how the media represent migrants and minorities. What information do the media communicate about them? What are the implications of media coverage for participation in the public sphere?

In the past, researchers studying migrants and minorities have rarely engaged in systematic...