This timely book contributes to the national discussion of immigration
policy, particularly its effects on law enforcement and the police. It examines
critical issues in the policing of immigrants, such as do immigrants
pose a threat to public safety, are there differences in criminality among
immigrant groups, what issues do police face in dealing with immigrants,
what are the attitudes of immigrants to the police, are these affected by
whether immigrants are legal or illegal, and can police enforce immigration
laws and at the same time protect immigrants from discrimination,
exploitation, and violence.
It is tempting to summarize Sun’s and Wu’s answers, but that would
be unfair. They deserve full credit for having the courage to raise these
controversial issues and examining them with compelling scholarship
and insight. So instead, I shall highlight elements in their presentation.
The heart of their analysis is an examination of the experience and attitudes
of three distinct immigrant groups—Latinos, Chinese, and Arabs.
Although the authors carefully discuss the histories of each group in the
United States, they concentrate on new immigrants largely from the
1990s and early years of the twenty-first century. Similarly, their research
draws mostly on scholarly studies and surveys from these same years.