Nancy Foner

Nancy Foner is an American sociologist whose research centers on immigration, race, ethnicity, and urban life, with particular emphasis on New York City. Her comparative approach places contemporary immigration alongside earlier migration waves to illuminate how labor markets, racial classifications, and government policies have changed over time.

Foner's major works include "From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration" and "In a New Land: A Comparative View of Immigration," both of which compare the immigrant experience across different historical periods. She has also edited several influential volumes on immigration and race in the contemporary United States.

Nancy Foner is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center, part of the City University of New York system. Her New York City base has shaped much of her research on immigrant communities in the city.

Foner's comparative framework highlights both continuities and differences between the great immigration wave of the early 1900s and the post-1965 wave that transformed New York City. She examines how shifts in labor markets, racial attitudes, and government policy have altered the immigrant experience, from the era of Ellis Island to the present day.