Mexican Americans: a mighty middle class.

• Position: Immigration - Brief article

Sociologist Jody Agius Vallejo challenges the widespread assumption that Mexican Americans in the U.S. persistently are poor and uneducated, and do not achieve social and economic mobility. In Barrios to Burbs: The Making of the Mexican American Middle Class, she highlights how Mexican Americans from a range of class backgrounds are remaking the middle class--and she highlights the challenges facing high-achieving Mexican Americans as they retain lies to poorer family members or assimilate into white America.

"Minorities, especially the growing population of Mexican Americans, are poised to fill the white-collar positions vacated by baby boomers, making it critical to take a closer look at the mobility paths and challenges faced by those who succeed," says Vallejo, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

While only 7.9% of first-generation Mexican Americans in Los Angeles are employed in white-collar jobs, the number rises to 27% of second generation and 31 2% for...