Every day we are reminded of—indeed, we arernsurrounded by—the myriad ways in which the UnitedrnStates remains a ‘‘permanently unfinished’’ society, arnglobal sponge remarkable in its continuing capacity tornabsorb millions of people of all classes and culturesrnfrom every continent on earth. There are today nearlyrn40 million foreign-born persons in the United States,rnof whom 12 million are estimated to be undocumentedrn(mostly from Mexico and Central America) and anotherrn30 million of foreign parentage. This immigrant-stockrnpopulation, the largest ever, is a youthful one; today’srnU.S.-born second generation, with a median age of 12,rnis poised to explode into adulthood in the coming 10rnto 20 years. They are coming of age in an aging societyrnundergoing profound social and economic transformations,rnall of which will have political ramifications. Arngreat deal of how tomorrow’s social contract betweenrnnatives and newcomers is worked out and how therncommitment to democratic values of equity andrninclusion is met will hinge on the mode of political incorporationrnand civic engagement of newcomer youthrntoday (Tienda, 2002; Tienda & Mitchell, 2006). Thernessays in this issue provide a glimpse of the possibilities.
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