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

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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. First Break in National-Origins Immigration Regime
Demands of post-war economy for labor
Bracero Program ( )
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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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 annually

17. Legal Immigration by Decade
Estimate of growth in unauthorized immigration population
annually : 400, ,000 per year

18. Sources of Immigrants to Permanent Residence, 2007

19. 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)

20. 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

21. Population Composition, 2000-2100 (current immigration levels)