Episode 8: Immigration Then & Now Featuring Prof. Jody Agius Vallejo (Part 1)

For this episode, I sat down with Jody Agius Vallejo, Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity and Associate Director of the USC Equity Research Institute. In Part 1 of our conversation, we talk about the climate of hostility and fear in Southern California created by widespread ICE raids, and we give context to the current moment by examining the history of immigration to places like Fullerton.Here are some references provided by Prof. Vallejo:Seven Facts on Immigration that Every American Should Know, by Jody Agius Vallejo and Clara Alvarez Caraveo, USC Equity Research InstituteNew Gallup poll on immigration: note the record high support of immigration as a benefit to the nation as well as the substantial support for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people currently in the country now. Also of note is that the majority of Americans disapprove Trump’s handling of immigration.THE groundbreaking source on the development of the Mexican communities in OC as a result of the citrus industry:Gonzalez, Gilbert. 1994. Labor and Community: Mexican Citrus Worker Villages in a Southern California County, 1900-1950My most recent op-ed2025 Californians Must Refuse to Abandon the Immigrants Among Us. Los Angeles Times (with Manuel Pastor).Academic articlesLee, Erika. 2007. “The ‘yellow peril’ and Asian Exclusion in the Americas.” Pacific Historical Review. 76:4 pp. 537-562Ngai, Mai. 1999. The Architecture of Race in American Immigration Law: A reexamination of the Immigration Act of 1924. The Journal of American History. 86: N1 pp. 79-92Excellent substacks to follow to stay up to date on evolving immigration issues:Migrant InsiderLetters from an AmericanAustin KocherData SourcesUSC Equity Research Institute’s California Immigrant Data Portal (CIDP)Deportation Detention ProjectRead Jesse's Brief History of Immigration to Fullerton HERE.To follow Jesse's research and writing about the history of Fullerton, check out www.fullertonhistory.com.