Abstract
Immigration laws—and raids—have been used throughout US history as a means of demographic control, with profound racial, labor, and political implications. Government agencies and enforcement mechanisms have been periodically restructured and strategically tailored to exert different modes of control over emerging populations. A brief historical sketch of the politics of immigration, as they have been applied to the different nationalities and ethnicities that came to form the makeup of the United States, shows some surprising parallels with the present, which shed light on the contemporary immigration debate.2
An evil exists that threatens every man, woman, and child of this great country. We must take steps to ensure our domestic security and protect our Homeland.
—Adolph Hitler, 19331
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Notes
For the history of US immigration policy, see: Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, Immigration to the United States, 1789–1930 (http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration); Marian L. Smith, “Overview of INS History to 1998,” in George T. Kurian, ed., A Historical Guide to the U.S. Government (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
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See Pete Daniel, The Shadow of Slavery: Peonage in the South, 1901–1969 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990).
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Randy Capps, et al., Delegation and Divergence: A Study of 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement (Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2011).
Town hall meeting on Secure Communities with the Latino community, Homestead, FL, March 16, 2012; Miguel Fernández, “Inmigrantes acusan de discriminación a la Policía de Miami-Dade,” Prensa Latina, March 19, 2012. See also “Miami Police Brutality Caught Allegedly Attacking Elderly Man,” WSVN, August 6, 2012.
John Bowe, “Nobodies: Does Slavery Exist in America?” The New Yorker, April 21, 2003.
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Victoria Macchi, “Collier Among the Most Active in U.S. in 287(g) Deportation Program; Will It Be Renewed?,” Naples Daily News, October 7, 2012; “ICE Temporarily Extends Collier Sheriff 287(g) Program that was Set to Expire,” Naples Daily News, October 12, 2012.
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Sam Roberts, “In a Generation, Minorities May Be the U.S. Majority,” New York Times, August 13, 2008.
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Daniel Gonzalez and Dan Nowicki, “Latino Votes Key to Obama’s Victory,” Arizona Republic, November 7, 2012.
Julia Preston, “Republicans Reconsider Positions on Immigration,” New York Times, November 9, 2012.
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© 2013 Erik Camayd-Freixas
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Camayd-Freixas, E. (2013). Endgame—The Prelude and the Aftermath. In: US Immigration Reform and Its Global Impact. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137106780_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137106780_8
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