The 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Amendments Political Science 126C / Chicano/Latino Studies 163 Lecture 5 January 22, 2009

Annotated Bibliography Due Next Tuesday, January 27 Examples posted to class web site

First Step in Course Research Identify at least eight sources related to your Policy Study Group Look for a variety of sources Scholarly Journalistic Advocacy Individual exercise – you will work with your group after you finish your research paper

Where to Look Scholarly Journalistic Advocacy Academic journals Scholarly books Use Library journal search utility / JSTOR.COM Journalistic Review articles in major national newspapers – New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle Transcriptions of National Public Radio reports Advocacy Web sites of interest groups seeking to influence immigration debate Look for balance between interest groups

A continuing tension and the roots of reform From Last Time A continuing tension and the roots of reform

Ongoing Tension in U.S. Immigration Policy Also True in Current Era Assertion – The U.S. has a low concentration of people to the land, so labor is in demand Leads to ongoing tension between: Economic interests seeking labor Non-economic sectors of the economy fearing: Labor competition Cultural change Loss of U.S. democratic values

1940s/1950s – Moving Away from Quotas Changing U.S. economy Demand for migrants in many industries (not just agriculture) Domestic migration Changing U.S. strategic role Asylum Political and humanitarian National embarrassment over treatment of Jews during the War and Displaced Persons afterward Need for skilled technical labor Civil Rights awareness challenged National Origins quota premises

First Break in National-Origins Immigration Regime Demands of post-war economy for labor Bracero Program (1943-1965) Meeting “emergency” U.S. labor needs (that become perpetual) Laying the foundation for large-scale unauthorized migration Agricultural employers learned that regulation could be manipulated Mexican labor (and their families and communities) became dependent on cyclical labor Creates new immigration status – unauthorized immigrant (topic for next Tuesday’s class)

Second Break – Refugee Migrations U.S. strategic role in the world creates pressure to respond to policy failures Hungary 1956 Cuba 1959 Dominican Republic 1963 National origin quotas not responsive to short term demand for many visas for new countries of origin

Final Break – Civil Rights Era Premise of National-Origin quotas antithetical to Civil Rights Era politics Political movement in support of expanded immigration included: Employers Citizenry seeking equal treatment, regardless of origin Internationalists seeking an immigration policy responsive to foreign policy

Overview: Immigration “Reform” Historical Perspectives (pre-1965) Periods of Congressional “reform” 1798 – Alien and Sedition Acts 1850s – the “Know Nothings” 1880s – Chinese exclusion 1880s-1910s – Excluding categories of immigrants by behavioral traits or beliefs 1910s-1920s – Literacy tests and National Origin Quotas 1965 – Ended national origin quotas

What do These Periods of “Reform” Have in Common? Generally, they narrowed immigration opportunities Exceptions – 1850s (no change), 1965 (ended National Origin quotas) Responded to period of mass organizing and state efforts to change (restrict) immigration Ongoing tension in American politics Economic and ethnic interests seeking immigrants Cultural conservatives and organized labor fearing the changes they bring “Reform” generally took a number of years because of competing societal interests

The 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Amendments Today’s Discussion The 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Amendments

The 1965 Immigration Act Objectives Family reunification Meeting national labor needs Less national bias Creates richest immigration opportunities for potential migrants who have immediate relatives in United States Asian Americans/Latinos have been most likely to be recent immigrants and to offer the opportunity for family members to immigrate Tells some potential migrants that they are permanently ineligible to migrate

1965 Immigration Act Little Debated in Congress Passed with bipartisan support and active support from Johnson administration Kennedy legacy Seen as part of civil rights legislation Assumed that it would cause few changes Excerpt from Lyndon Johnson’s statement on signing 1965 bill

Long-term Impact 1980s and 1990s Economic and cultural change Increase in overall legal migration 80 percent of immigrants Asian/Latin American Family-based migration guarantees continued flow from these areas Economic and cultural change Adds incentives to and resources for undocumented migration 2000s 1 million+ legal immigrants annually Unauthorized flow – 400,000-500,000 annually

Legal Immigration by Decade Estimate of growth in unauthorized immigration population annually 2000-2005: 400,000-500,000 per year

Sources of Immigrants to Permanent Residence, 2007

Numbers, Cultural Diversity, and Demographic Change Numbers can only tell part of the story Nation is fundamentally different than it would have been without the 1965 Act To date, all evidence shows that long-term economic impact positive for U.S. Short-term economic dislocation for native-born workers at lower end of U.S. economy For sending countries, brain drain versus safety valve Change has increasingly become national (and this is part of the source of the present debate)

Looking to the Long-term Future Assuming current trends continue (which they won’t), no majority race/ethnic population in 2100 California a harbinger What could change? Change in immigration flows Changes in fertility and mortality patterns Changes in ethnic identities and ethnic boundaries

Population Composition, 2000-2100 (current immigration levels)