My scholarly research focuses on the historical origins of racial and class oppression in the lives of Mexicano/as residing in the United States. Due to the reliance on Mexican labor in the rural industries of agriculture, mining, and railroad construction, my historical research explores the class and race formations of Anglo-Chicano relations as they relate to these sectors of rural spaces and the economy. I investigate the degree to which contemporary immigrant labor is informed by the history of Mexican incorporation into the rural United States. I seek to understand the underlying assumptions about nation, race, identity, gender and class in how the public forms our opinions about immigration and part of my hope is to carve out a new paradigm for understanding both the political economy and culture of immigration as well as its interconnections. Current research projects include: ¥ A social history of the U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program, 1942-1964. ¥ The U.S. consumption of Mexican immigrant labor from 1942 to the present. ¥ A critical analysis of US Census data on "Hispanics/Latinos" with an emphasis on the "Latinization" of rural New York and the United States. ¥ Intermountain West Resort Development and Mexican Re-Emerging Destinations: The New Economy, Tourism, Boom/Bust Cycles, and Serving Classes.