Book Review: Choo, K. S. (2004). Gangs and Immigrant Youth. New York: LFB Scholarly. xiv pp., 200 pp

• DOI: 10.1177/1057567708319537
• Published date: 01 June 2008
• Author: Anthony A. Peguero
• Date: 01 June 2008
• Subject Matter: Articles

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International Criminal Justice Review
relevant to criminologists in the late modern world, for ASB policies are in one form or another dupli-
cating each other in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom. In other words, it is a book
that should be read by those on both sides of the Atlantic for both its review of theory and policy and
the importance of those policies for troubled youths in a late modern ASB crime control world.
Simon I. Singer
Northeastern University, Boston
Choo, K. S. (2004). Gangs and Immigrant Youth. New York: LFB Scholarly. xiv pp., 200 pp.
DOI: 10.1177/1057567708319537
The social, economic, and political debate on U.S. immigration policy is heated and controver-
sial. Although the debate over immigration is a complex social issue often discussed with biased
views as well as conflicting information, there are some data which are certain. Currently, twenty
percent of American youth are children of immigrants, and four out of five Asian American children
live in families that have at least one parent who is an immigrant (Capps, Fix, Murray, Ost, Passel,
& Herwantoro, 2005). With this recent immigration trend, it is essential to examine immigrant Asian
American adolescents’ experiences and their development to ensure their successful transition into
adults who have economic and health stability. Unfortunately, however, the social problem of gangs
within Asian American communities is prevalent. As such, Choo examines two youth groups, a Korean
affiliated Chinese youth gang and a Korean delinquent group, toward understanding phenomenon of
gangs and immigrant youth in New York City. In Gangs and Immigrant Youth, Choo suggests that
neighborhood characteristics, limited economic opportunities and poverty, educational inequalities,
and sociocultural marginalization of Asian American youth detrimentally impact their acculturation
and increase exposure to and involvement in the subculture of violence, delinquency, crime, and
gangs.
Choo...