– Why are undocumented Dominican immigrants more likely to have been professionals and managers in the Dominican Republic?  This point seems counterintuitive to me, especially since Foner made a point about the “the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor…[being] unmoved or unable to move” (p. 15).

– Immigrants that are well educated sometimes cannot find a job in America that matches their qualifications; they thus take up jobs for which they are are underpaid and overqualified.  How can this discrepancy be resolved?  Is it possible to reconcile the exapnsion of higher education with high-level jobs?

– Foner highlights the stark contrast between the migrants from the first wave of immigration in the United States and the immigrants of today.  I found it particularly interesting that the immigrants of today come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.  Foner draws attention to the fact that newcomers to America include both those that are lightly educated and those that are low-skilled and poorly educated.  Over the years, I have noticed that my own group of friends and family that came from India or Pakistan occupy a wide range of occupations and usually have “high levels of educational attainment,” as Foner elucidates in Chapter 1, thus adhering to the truth of this statement.

– I found the description of the migration process as a movement that is “self-perpetuating” to be quite interesting.  This characterization sheds light upon the way in which immigration patterns of the past exert an influence on present immigration patterns.  I see this fact readily apparent in the ways in which a large majority of my own family and acquaintances have come to New York: those that are already here sponsor other family and friends, and also encourage them with their favorable descriptions.