Immigration, Aging, and the Life Course

Today, immigrants make up one-eighth of the US population. Although this share has not yet reached the high point seen a century ago during the heyday of US immigration, the rising numbers of foreign-born are remaking American society in numerous ways and raising concerns about how well the US incorporates newcomers. Globalization means that a similar story is playing out around the world. This chapter examines the critical issues of immigration and immigrant incorporation through the lens of aging and the life course. We address international migration within a general framework of historically situated adaptation and change occurring over the lives of individuals. We do not attempt a comprehensive survey of the rich literature on immigrants and immigration, because useful introductions to research on immigration and aging are already available. We focus largely, but not exclusively, on immigration to the United States, historically “a nation of immigrants” and the country leading the world in the number of immigrants today.