How Race Is Made in America examines Mexican immigration—from 1924 when immigration acts drastically reduced immigration to the U.S. to 1965 when many quotas were abolished—to understand how broad themes of race and citizenship are constructed. These years shaped the emergence of what Molina describes as an immigration regime that defined the racial categories that continue to influence perceptions in the U.S. about Mexican Americans, race, and ethnicity.

Through a thoughtful examination of a diverse array of legal, political, social, and cultural sources related to immigration, Molina demonstrates that despite the multiplicity of influences that help shape our concept of race, common themes prevail and are often molded and transformed, or even revived and recycled, by those in power who aim to advance express or implicit agendas.

Through the use of a relational lens, How Race Is Made in America also shows that racial scripts are easily adopted and adapted to apply to different racial groups.