In The Political Incorporation of Immigrant, Then and Now, Gary Gerstle and John Mollenkopf talk about the development of immigrant participation in politics and the two waves of immigrants that came to the United States of America.  The first wave, which lasted from the 1880s to the 1930s, consisted of mainly Europeans.  Most immigrants came from countries of Eastern Europe, like Italy, Germany, and Ireland.  The second wave consisted of Latinos, Asians and Caribbeans during the 1900s to present day.  With the new wave of immigrants coming to the United States came the inevitable rise in immigrants in blue collar jobs.  With the lack of skill and knowledge of how the job market worked in America, immigrants were a great source of cheap labor for manufacturers and other low-skilled jobs.  Both waves of immigrants also settled in city areas with other immigrants, like New York City.  Since immigrants seemed to gravitate towards other cultures similar to theirs, the authors point out how the first wave of European immigrants became more assimilated into American culture, or “white” culture.  As time passed by, Europeans became accepted as part of the American culture.   Because the earlier wave of immigrants related more to “white”culture, it makes sense that immigrant participation in politics has declined.  The newer wave of immigrants do not feel as assimilated as the earlier wave, so they are not as inclined to participate in political activities.  Of course, there are the few immigrants who are interested in politics and making themselves heard.  The issues of immigrants are being made more and more known, even though participation is lower than it should be.