The Ambivalent Welcome describes how leading magazines and the New York Times covered and interpreted U.S. immigration policy, and public attitudes about the impact of immigrants on the American economy and social fabric. Rita J. Simon and Susan H. Alexander examine print media coverage of immigration issues from 1880, the onset of the new immigration, to the present, and find that most magazines, like most Americans, have vehemently opposed new immigrants.Part One begins with a chapter providing statistics on the number of immigrants and refugees by country of origin from 1810 to 1990, and estimates of the number of illegals who have entered the United States. Chapter 2 discusses U.S. immigration acts and summarizes the major political party platforms on immigration from the mid-nineteenth century through the present. Results of all national poll data regarding immigrants and refugees since the availability of such data (1930s) are reported in Chapter 3. Part Two discusses in detail particular magazines, including North American Review, Saturday Evening Post, Literary Digest, Harper's, Scribner's, Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, Christian Century, Commentary, Commonweal, Reader's Digest, Time, Life, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, and the editorials of the New York Times. Following a summary chapter, Appendix A provides a profile of each of the magazines, including the date of its founding, its editors and publishers, circulation, characteristics of its readers, and an assessment of its influence on immigration. Appendix B describes the major American anti-immigration movements.

Describes how Ameican magazines covered immigration policy and public opinion from 1810-1990.

IntroductionHow the Print Media Have Covered ImmigrationA Statistical Overview of from Where and When Immigrants Came, Major Immigration Legislation, and Public Opinion DataWho Came When and from Where: A Statistical OverviewMajor Immigration Legislation, 1880-1990Public Opinion on Immigrants: National Polls, 1937-1990The Media SurveyedNorth American ReviewSaturday Evening PostLiterary DigestHarper's, Scribner's, Atlantic Monthly, and The NationChristian Century, Commentary, and CommonwealReader's DigestThe Big News Weeklies: Time, Life, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World ReportThe New York Times Editorials, 1880-1990The Miracle of Immigration: Summary and Concluding RemarksAppendix A: Profiles of the Magazines SurveyedAppendix B: Organized Opposition to ImmigrationSelected BibliographyIndex