1. U.S. Immigration and Incorporation Policies 1492-1965
Political Science 126C / Chicano/Latino Studies 163
Lecture 3
January 13, 2009

2. Ongoing Tension in U.S. “Immigration” Policy
Assertion – The U.S. (and its colonial predecessors) 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

3. Population Density per km2
Population Densities, 2006
Population Density per km2
Monaco
23,660
Taiwan
636
United Kingdom
246
Mexico 55
Land area of world 48
United States 31
Greenland
0.026

4. Dominant Model: Receptivity to Some Immigrants
Economic needs (and, over-time, immigrant/ethnic organization) drive long-periods of openness to some immigrants
Each of these periods of inclusion have slowed, but restriction the exception
Economic interests powerful and can demonstrate the need for additional labor
Electoral politics responsive to immigrant/ethnic group organization

5. U.S. Legal Immigration, By Decade, 1821-present

6. Inclusion Likely to Continue
Globalized world, however, ensures that demand far exceeds willingness to take immigrants
So, debate is increasingly over
Which immigrants to accept
How to attract desired immigrants
How rigorously to enforce restrictions on potential immigrants
What to do with people who are able to immigrate despite prohibitions

7. Periodizing Immigration Before 1965
“Open borders” (1492 – 1875)
Nature provided many limits
Colonies/states encouraged some and discouraged other potential migrants
Colonial patterns remain with U.S. independence
Steadily growing restrictions ( )
Tension between economic interests and cultural change
Government used this period to create bureaucracy to implement restriction
Restriction at its peak ( )
National Origin Quota Laws (1921 and 1924)

8. Colonial Roots
“He (King George III) has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither; and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.”
- U.S. Declaration of Independence

9. Colonial Americas Set Continuing Patterns
Tactical use of emigration in England (and Europe)
Labor demands shaped national policy
But not all labor, so selective recruitment
Efforts to categorize immigrants to create/maintain social hierarchies
Slave
Indentured labor
Free migrants
Indentured labor status impossible to enforce with vast available lands
Beginning of desire to get immigrant’s labor without extending societal rights (call them the guest workers of their era)

10. Immigration and Early National Ideology
Need for (White) settlers raised a new “right” in the minds of colonists – migration (or expatriation from country of origin)
No consensus though on a related “right” – incorporation
Cultural difference of some migrants raised questions in many minds about whether they could be incorporated

11. The First Great Wave
(1787)

12. Pre-Revolutionary Patterns Continue
States selectively recruit immigrants
Work with shipping companies and European recruiters
Part of recruitment is promise of citizenship
Competition for immigrant labor increases as U.S. expands Westward
States begin offering rights before citizenship
Sources of migration diversify
Northwestern Europe / Caribbean
… and narrow
New migration from Africa for purposes of slavery ended after 1808

13. As European Wars End, Numbers Surge
Relative European peace after Congress of Vienna (1815) makes travel safe for a century
1820s – 143,439
1830s – 599,125
1840s – 1,713,251
1850s – 2,598,214
Immigrants increasingly “diverse”
Irish, Germans, and (1850s) some Chinese and Mexicans
Catholics and some Jews

14. Popular Opposition to Immigration Appears Selectively
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
Fear that immigrants will undermine American political values
Reflects first appearance of partisanship
Effort to restrict rights of immigrants to naturalize leads to Federalist defeat
The Know-Nothing Movement (1850s)
Fear of Catholic migrants/labor competition
Effort to restrict nationalization (not immigration)
Know-Nothing Movement dissolves as national focus shifts to slavery and succession

15. First Tentative Efforts at Immigration “Regulation”
1821 – Ships bringing migrants to U.S. had to provide the government with their manifests
So, the first data we have on numbers of immigrants
1847 – Protections for passengers on merchant vessels
1862 – Prohibition on transportation of Chinese “coolies” on U.S. flag ships
States (California) attempt more extensive regulation

16. The Third Great Wave

17. Period of Sustained Demand (and Economic Uncertainty)
Numbers surge
1860s – 2,314,824
1870s – 2,812,191
1880s – 5,426,613
1890s – 3,687,564
1900s – 8,795,386
1910s – 5,735,811
And sources multiply
Southern and Eastern Europe

18. Native Populations Come to Fear New Immigrants
At root, a question of labor competition
But, national ideology supported immigration, so new political/organizational strategies tested to galvanize opposition to immigration
“Unfree” labor (Chinese migrants/coolies)
Health concerns
Ideology and political loyalty
Ethnic difference
Regulatory structure had to be built to enforce restriction

19. Consequence – Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
Suspends Chinese labor immigration for 10 years
Continues to allow elite migration from China: those “proceeding to the United States … from curiosity”
Held to be Constitutional—Chae Chan Ping v. U.S. (1889)
Remains in place until 1940 when war-time imperatives allow for limited Chinese immigration
Chinese American residents of U.S. find ways to evade its restrictions

20. Asian Restriction as the Root of Broader Restrictions
Asian exclusion begins 40-year growth in exclusion
Exclusion of single women (using notion that they were destined for prostitution)
Exclusion based on belief
Exclusion based on health status – Ellis Island
Exclusion based on behaviors
Exclusion based on skills (or lack of skills)
Piecemeal exclusions, despite widespread popular opposition to immigration from 1890s
Why?
See Tichenor

21. End of Era: National Origin Quotas
Most restrictive immigration law in U.S. history
Attempt to freeze national ethnic composition in 1890 (1924 law)
All but Northern/Western Europeans faced exclusion
Absolute bar on Asian immigration
Regulatory structure in place to enforce
Issuance of visas abroad
Border inspection stations

22. “Restriction” Created Opportunities for Some
Demand for immigrant labor continued
Consequence
New demand for migration from the Americas
Rapid expansion of migration from Mexico and the Caribbean
Industries (particularly agriculture) become dependent on Latino labor
“Short-term” labor migration
The Bracero Program
Puerto Rican cyclical migration

23. Era of Immigration Restriction

24. Initially Very Successful
National opposition to immigration strong
Economic interests able to meet demand for labor
Migration from the Americas
Domestic migration (Rural to urban and Blacks from South to North)
Depression and World War II reduce demand for migration from Europe
Some fraud