Volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Global Migrations presents an authoritative overview of the various continuities and changes in migration and globalization from the 1800s to the present day. Despite revolutionary changes in communication technologies, the growing accessibility of long-distance travel, and globalization across major economies, the rise of nation-states empowered immigration regulation and bureaucratic capacities for enforcement that curtailed migration. One major theme worldwide across the post-1800 centuries was the differentiation between “skilled” and “unskilled” workers, often considered through a racialized lens; it emerged as the primary divide between greater rights of immigration and citizenship for the former, and confinement to temporary or unauthorized migrant status for the latter. Through thirty-one chapters, this volume further evaluates the long global history of migration; and it shows that despite the increased disciplinary systems, the primacy of migration remains and continues to shape political, economic, and social landscapes around the world.

Prisons reflect a justice system for the rich, and an injustice system for the poor. Most people in prison are poor. Given the high recidivism rates, the purpose of prisons is not to teach convicted criminals that crime does not pay. A close examination of what happens to people in prison shows that there is very little effort to reform and offer education, and much more effort to isolate and punish. There is serious collatoral damage, with the deepest harm inflicted on the family of the incarcerated. In the United States, the children of incarcerated, paroled, and recently released parents number well over three million. Having a parent incarcerated negatively impacts these children, particuarly in terms of their mental health and educational performance. Ethnic groups are disproportionally represented in prison, but poverty is the most common feature of all the people from different ethnic groups in prison. The poor are the victims of the ongoing prison boom in the United States and in much of the rest of the world.