The 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Amendments

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 • 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. 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 (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)

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. 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 • 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

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