social inequality weeks 7-8

Immigration and Crime

Research shows immigrants are not more crime-prone than U.S.-born people; undocumented status is a civil violation, not a criminal conviction.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

U.S. immigration policy that restricted Chinese immigration.

National Origins Act of 1924

Established restrictive national-origins quotas favoring certain European populations.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Eliminated national-origins quotas and emphasized family reunification and occupational preferences.

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Legalized certain undocumented immigrants and introduced employer sanctions for hiring unauthorized workers.

Push Factors in Migration

Conditions like violence, poverty, or political instability that encourage someone to leave their home country.

Pull Factors in Migration

Conditions like job opportunities, safety, or freedom that attract someone to another country.

Asylum

Protection granted to refugees unable or unwilling to return home due to persecution based on race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion.

Nativism

Political or social ideology favoring native-born or established members over immigrants, often portraying immigrants as threats.

Immigration and Labor Control

Undocumented status can increase worker vulnerability to exploitation, wage theft, and fear of reporting unsafe conditions.

Impact of Undocumented Status on Minors

Children experience stress, fear of family separation, and educational barriers even if they have legal status.

Suspended Illegality

Situation where undocumented status is temporarily tolerated or deferred (e.g., DACA) while underlying status remains unresolved.

Social Reproduction

Activities and social relationships (raising children, care, cooking) that sustain people and make daily life and future generations possible.

Production vs. Social Reproduction

Production generates goods/services for the economy, while social reproduction sustains the people and relationships making production possible.

Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Relations

The pandemic exposed and intensified existing inequalities in paid work and unpaid care responsibilities.

Care Work

Physical, emotional, and practical labor (nursing, childcare, eldercare) that is often undervalued because it is associated with femininity.

Crisis of Care

Occurs when the need for care exceeds available time, resources, or institutions, driven by factors like aging populations and low wages.

Nancy Fraser on Capital and Care

Capitalism depends on social reproduction while simultaneously undermining the conditions that make it possible by prioritizing profit and production.