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Mapping Racisms
Defining America Through Immigration Policy
From the earliest days of nationhood, the US has determined who might enter the country and who might be naturalized. In this sweeping review of US immigration policies, Bill Ong Hing points to the racial, ethnic and social struggles over who should be welcomed into the community of citizens.
- GenresImmigrationPoliticsLaw
376 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 10, 2008
This book examines immigration policy from Conquest to just after September 11th, 2001. It isn’t groundbreaking new information or engaging academic theory but it is a solid read if you want a crash course in the history of US immigration law, particularly as the author keeps a constant eye on the connections between the past and present. The book examines specific laws that were passed and the congressional debates surrounding them. In the process it analyzes the racial construction of the “real American” and the immorality and underlying racism of many US policies.
Part 1 appears to look at immigration policy through 1924. I didn’t read this section.
Part 2 provides a sound explanation of the 1952 immigration act (in its cold war context) and the 1965 immigration act (in its post-war liberal context). This section also examines the ways in which racial prejudices were written into the “diversification” laws that attempted to increase the percentages of immigrants coming from white European countries.
Part 3 of the book specifically examines Mexican Americans. It begins with a chapter on conquest entitled “the politicization of the southwest border.” It then has an excellent chapter on the Border Patrol as it relates to Mexican Americans (a great chapter to read while watching the film Detained about the New Bedford Raids). The chapter on ICRA (the immigration reform bill of 1986) was really useful because I didn’t know much about that legislation, especially some of the logistics about the legalization of undocumented workers who entered the U.S. prior to 1982, including descriptions of what documentation they were required to show to demonstrate their eligibility under the program. Chapter 10 details the Clinton-era militarization of the border, the growth of Operation Gatekeeper and its deadly consequences. This chapter demonstrates that enforcement efforts like Operation Gatekeeper did not act as deterrents to undocumented immigration as expected but rather functioned to shift the location of the immigration out of the public eye. Numbers of border-crossings increased and the true beneficiary was the underground smuggling operations, as migrants turned to more illicit ways of entering. Moreover, because the migration paths shifted to “more difficult terrain” death rates from hypothermia, heat stroke, drowning, etc increased dramatically. There is some shocking evidence that the INS knew that its policies would result in increased numbers of avoidable deaths and just didn’t care.
Part Four examines Deportations from the first deportation statute in 1798 through the list of deportable offenses listed in a 1996 law. He specifically discusses the deportations of the Chinese in the exclusion era and the deportations associated with the Red Scare in 1919-1920 along with the Palmer Raids. He discussed the Deportation of Japanese immigrants during World War II -- I was disappointed with the two paragraphs he afforded that subject in this book, especially in contrast to the consequent pages spent discussing the deportation of John Lennon. The deportation of Nazi War Criminals and of Iranian Studies in 1979 is also addressed. This chapter concludes a discussion of the Marriage Fraud Amendments in relationship to the Page Law (the first racially based immigration law, focused on the fear of Chinese prostitutes). The final chapter examines “The Politics of Asylum” reviewing the Refugee History I learned yesterday when I read Calculated Kindness .
Part 1 appears to look at immigration policy through 1924. I didn’t read this section.
Part 2 provides a sound explanation of the 1952 immigration act (in its cold war context) and the 1965 immigration act (in its post-war liberal context). This section also examines the ways in which racial prejudices were written into the “diversification” laws that attempted to increase the percentages of immigrants coming from white European countries.
Part 3 of the book specifically examines Mexican Americans. It begins with a chapter on conquest entitled “the politicization of the southwest border.” It then has an excellent chapter on the Border Patrol as it relates to Mexican Americans (a great chapter to read while watching the film Detained about the New Bedford Raids). The chapter on ICRA (the immigration reform bill of 1986) was really useful because I didn’t know much about that legislation, especially some of the logistics about the legalization of undocumented workers who entered the U.S. prior to 1982, including descriptions of what documentation they were required to show to demonstrate their eligibility under the program. Chapter 10 details the Clinton-era militarization of the border, the growth of Operation Gatekeeper and its deadly consequences. This chapter demonstrates that enforcement efforts like Operation Gatekeeper did not act as deterrents to undocumented immigration as expected but rather functioned to shift the location of the immigration out of the public eye. Numbers of border-crossings increased and the true beneficiary was the underground smuggling operations, as migrants turned to more illicit ways of entering. Moreover, because the migration paths shifted to “more difficult terrain” death rates from hypothermia, heat stroke, drowning, etc increased dramatically. There is some shocking evidence that the INS knew that its policies would result in increased numbers of avoidable deaths and just didn’t care.
Part Four examines Deportations from the first deportation statute in 1798 through the list of deportable offenses listed in a 1996 law. He specifically discusses the deportations of the Chinese in the exclusion era and the deportations associated with the Red Scare in 1919-1920 along with the Palmer Raids. He discussed the Deportation of Japanese immigrants during World War II -- I was disappointed with the two paragraphs he afforded that subject in this book, especially in contrast to the consequent pages spent discussing the deportation of John Lennon. The deportation of Nazi War Criminals and of Iranian Studies in 1979 is also addressed. This chapter concludes a discussion of the Marriage Fraud Amendments in relationship to the Page Law (the first racially based immigration law, focused on the fear of Chinese prostitutes). The final chapter examines “The Politics of Asylum” reviewing the Refugee History I learned yesterday when I read Calculated Kindness .
November 26, 2012
I only read one chapter for an essay, but it was interesting to read about Hing's perspective on America's immigration policy. As the title states, Hing offers his definition of America through observation of the immigration policy in America. Hing covers the history of immigration in America and immigrant groups that were targeted, and how immigration policy affects the present and future.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews