Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor [Paperback]

Peter Kwong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999 | ISBN-10: 156584517X | ISBN-13: 978-1565845176

A "gripping expos" (Publishers Weekly) of the conditions faced by Chinese illegal aliens in the United States. Hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "a must-read," Forbidden Workers tells for the first time the full story of recent Chinese immigration to this country. Widely praised from the Wall Street Journal to Asian Week, the book uses the Chinese experience to shed light on broader issues of immigration from countries around the world. Author Peter Kwong has interviewed countless immigrant workers, activists, Chinatown powerbrokers, and "snakeheads" (smugglers who bring immigrants to the United States) and has traveled to China to talk with families of immigrants. The result is an unprecedented look at an invisible community within American society -- and at a billion-dollar industry whose commodity is workers who labor under conditions approaching modern slavery.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

During the Golden Adventure fiasco in 1993, a ship carrying illegal Chinese immigrants was intercepted in New York harbor, generating a fever of public attention on Chinese illegal immigration. Kwong (Asian American studies, Hunter Coll.) explores a dark side of American realities that create the conditions that encourage human smuggling and modern slavery. At the heart of the issue lies the ever-strong demand of American business for vulnerable, docile, and unprotected labor. As Kwong notes, the illegal immigrant problem must be viewed and understood in the context of the underlying supply-and-demand principle enshrined in traditional U.S. economics. Kwong carefully traces the origin of Chinese illegal immigration, the external causes, and the internal problems related to American labor laws and union issues. The result is a provocative and alarming book that should appeal to a wide audience. Recommended for all libraries.?Mark Meng, St. John's Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

An honest look at an appalling situation, exemplified by the tragedy of the illegal-alien-bearing ship the Golden Venture. At first Kwong's (Asian American Studies/Hunter Coll.; The New Chinatown, 1987) dates seem wrong: Surely he is describing the 19th-century slave trade, not present-day smuggling of illegal Chinese immigrants. But the setting is the present, and transporting people from the Chinese province of Fuzhou to America is as profitable for Chinese ``snakeheads'' today as was the earlier commerce in human beings conducted by Europeans. The voyagers get to pay off the debt incurred by family members to finance their horrific trip by laboring for years under inhumane conditions for less than minimum wage. How could this be happening? Kwong's central thesis is that illegal immigration must be understood as a labor issue. Aliens have always filled the demand for cheap labor in this country, and powerful economic forces exploiting this supply of labor are no less present today than in the past. From the produce fields of California to New York's sweatshops, employers depend on illegals not only to keep their labor costs down, but also as a key weapon in the fight against a strong labor movement. The established unions have been worse than useless in response to this tactic, with their institutionalized and isolated leadership able to think of nothing beyond ``Buy American'' campaigns. Legislation to curb immigration is popular but expensive and relatively ineffective, and employers have wielded political clout to insure that laws prohibiting the hiring of illegals are easy to violate and rarely enforced. Kwong leaves no doubt that the fundamental cause of the trade in illegal immigrants is not the greediness of the foreign snakeheads, but rather that of American capitalists who demand labor so cheap, only illegals can provide it. Ultimately, the only hope Kwong sees for improving this situation is a renewed and committed labor movement--a very dim hope indeed. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156584517X
• ISBN-13: 978-1565845176
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Chinese-American dream turned nightmare, April 26, 2003

By 

Malvin (Frederick, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Forbidden Workers (Hardcover)

Peter Kwong's "Forbidden Workers" is a powerful analysis of working class struggle in the United States. Mr. Kwong effectively connects his study of labor struggles within the illegal Chinese immigrant community to outside macroeconomic forces. It is the author's contention that the exploitation of illegal workers is key to understanding the restructuring of capital/labor relations within the U.S. in the postindustrial era.

Mr. Kwong is a resident of New York and has close ties to the Chinese community. His solid academic scholarship combines with real-world activism to present a contemporary assessment of illegal Chinese labor. Much of the book is dedicated to then current events (early to mid 1990s), such as the well-known Golden Adventure incident and lesser-known strikes against Chinese-owned businesses, among many others. The author convincingly supplants the mainstream's stereotypical image of docile and complacent Chinese labor with a more complex and disturbing picture of a frightened, indebted and exploited workforce that is barely able to subsist on the fringes of society.

Mr. Kwong's mastery of Chinese-American history is evident throughout the book. He provides the reader with useful background material on a number of relevant events, from the Chinese Labor Exclusion Act of 1882 to the enlistment of Chinese seamen in World War II. The author helps us understand the cultural and economic factors that have prompted many Chinese-Americans to develop thriving but insular and crime-ridden Chinatowns in major cities across the U.S.

The failures of government policy and organized labor are critiqued at length. Mr. Kwong shows how capitalism has effectively co-opted the democratic institutions in this country that are supposed to help the working class. For example, the government's lack of enforcement of labor laws (including, of course, immigration policy) and the union movement's out-of-touch leadership combined with close ties to corporate management are cited as critical factors that explain why labor laws are routinely violated.

Importantly, the author reasserts the dignity of human labor, suggesting that the defense of workers' rights should not come at the risk of deportation. In fact, it is this vulnerability that allows unscrupulous employers to exploit workers with impunity. The resulting worker fear and insecurity has been a crucial factor in helping capital depress wages among all workers, Mr. Kwong explains.

In short, Mr. Kwong's important book does much to explain why the American dream is increasingly becoming a nightmare for the working class in general and particularly among illegal Chinese-Americans. But the author also suggests that a reinvigorated labor movement dedicated to grass-roots democracy can point the way to a better future. I highly recommend this book to readers interested in learning more about labor relations and the Chinese-American struggle.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, moving, shaming...Great read, March 27, 2000

By 

Esther Armoza - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forbidden Workers (Hardcover)

This amazing book looks at the lives of Illegal Chinese workers in America and how actors from gangs to the INS have conspired to keep them underground and exploited. Fast read and totally amazing eye opener. It will make you think twice when you read "Made in the USA."