We live in a period when more people are migrating from the countryside to the city, from city to city, and from country to country than at nearly anytime in human history. At the same time, we see sharp increases in wealth and income inequality. These two trends fuel populist movements on both the left and right, topping political agendas across the world. Untangling the Political Roots of Immigration and Inequality in the United States examines the causes, consequences, and politics of mass migration and growing inequality by investigating the case of the United States – the quintessential immigrant nation. While scholars, policy makers, and advocates have put forth a variety of explanations, many misdiagnose the causes and put forward remedies that treat symptoms. This book looks to the root causes of mass migration and intensifying inequality, arguing that they are two sides of the same coin resulting from rapacious forms of capitalist accumulation and imperialist interventionism. Developing a broadly left analytic framework grounded in elements of Marxist theory and political science, two periods are examined – 1870–1925 and 1970–2025 – when the proportion of immigrants in the US peaked at 15% of the total population, the US experienced steep inequality and political polarization, immigration and inequality became contentious political issues that generated sharp conflict, and immigrants and workers organized mass movements that advanced radical politics and transformative change. This book contains a wealth of information and elevates valuable lessons for scholars, policy makers, and organizers interested in understanding these trends and forging equitable and just solutions today. “This book advances questions of managing the multiple crises (economic, ecological, democratic etc.), showing how migrant activism intersects with racial and gender justice and environmental sustainability. A unique contribution of the work is that it is based on Hayduk’s direct experience with social movement/worker-led policy, which allows concrete insight into alternatives alongside the historical and contemporary analysis of migrant struggle. This will be an important and timely volume as social sciences take a turn towards strategy. I am sure it will have a long shelf life as it covers an important historical moment.” Hannah Cross , Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Westminster “This book offers a useful contribution to the fields of immigration studies and labor studies. While there has been a growing volume of work written about immigration, especially since 2006, this work offers a comprehensive and cumulative look at how immigrants, migrants, and refugees have integrated into the ranks of the US working class. It also establishes in chronological documentation, how immigrant workers have inspired and/or been integral to recent episodes of class struggle, revitalized the labor movement, and have made clear the intersectional connections and shared/mutual class interests within and across borders in way that have informed and shaped the outlook of a new generation of the political left within and around unions, NGOs, and different social movement organizations of the last two decades. This kind of work connects multiple threads that link a historical analysis with a theoretical framework that identifies and promotes new landscapes for working class struggle.” Justin Akers Chacón , Professor of Chicana/o History, San Diego City College “In Untangling the Roots of Immigration and Inequality in the US , political scientist and organizer, Ron Hayduk, asks what are the forces that cause so many people to feel a need to leave their homes? And what can be done to build movements based on solidarity that will allow people to live well wherever they find themselves? Now more than ever, as xenophobia is a rising force in the US, and in many other countries, it is crucial that we explore the deep causes of mass migration and inequality, and use that deeper understanding to point to deeper solutions. This book does a masterful job arguing for both a right to stay, and right to leave, as core human values.” Cynthia Kaufman , Director, Vasconcellos Institute for Democracy in Action, Faculty in Philosophy, De Anza College “Marx argued that capitalism creates the working class, taking the violent enclosure process and the rise of the mills in England as his means to show historically the way the system itself was born. Ron Hayduk brilliantly argues that in two key half-century periods U.S. capitalism acted similarly, creating a migrant workforce that has formed, and is today, a key part of this country's working class. His argument is the kind of deep class analysis the movement for immigrant rights needs. Hayduk unpacks the creation of the ‘illegal’ social category, shows who created it and how, and most importantly, who benefits. He clearly connects the imperial system abroad with the displacement of communities, and