"Immigration from Mexico and Latin America is changing the face of agricultural areas of the United States, bringing newcomers to the fields of California's San Joaquin Valley and the meatpacking plants in the Midwest. The New Rural Poverty explains how the expansion of agriculture attracts immigrants and how the availability of immigrants eases the fears of farmers and food processors about worker availability. But the status quo could produce an immigration treadmill that simply transfers poor rural Mexicans to rural America. The New Rural Poverty helps rural communities and policymakers understand the issues they must address."
—Cornelia Flora, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Sociology, Iowa State University
"This book reminds me of Michael Harrington's The Other America. It again opens our eyes to the poor living in our midst. Growing rural poverty has been a principal outcome of flawed and inadequate migration policies that must be changed."
—Mark Miller, Emma Smith Morris Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware
"California's San Joaquin Valley is an agricultural powerhouse that would be the nation's leading farm 'state,' but this 'state' would have serious poverty, unemployment, education, and health challenges. This book outlines the challenges facing the Valley, and emphasizes the policy options that could help avoid a new rural poverty."
—Carol Whiteside, President, Great Valley Center
