The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Legislating a New America

This is the first book on the landmark 1965 Immigration Act, which ended race-based immigration quotas and reshaped American demographics.

Gabriel J. Chin (Edited by), Rose Cuison Villazor (Edited by)

9781107445987, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 March 2018

403 pages, 15 b/w illus. 39 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2.2 cm, 0.62 kg

Along with the civil rights and voting rights acts, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 is one of the most important bills of the civil rights era. The Act's political, legal, and demographic impact continues to be felt, yet its legacy is controversial. The 1965 Act was groundbreaking in eliminating the white America immigration policy in place since 1790, ending Asian exclusion, and limiting discrimination against Eastern European Catholics and Jews. At the same time, the Act discriminated against gay men and lesbians, tied refugee status to Cold War political interests, and shattered traditional patterns of Mexican migration, setting the stage for current immigration politics. Drawing from studies in law, political science, anthropology, and economics, this book will be an essential tool for any scholar or student interested in immigration law.

Foreword Cruz Reynoso
Introduction Gabriel J. Chin and Rose Cuison Villazor
Part I. The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965: Ushering in an Era of Racial Equality or Furthering Racial Discrimination?: 1. Were the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 anti-racist? Gabriel J. Chin
2. African migration to the United States: assigned to the back of the bus Bill Ong Hing
3. The beginning of the end: the Immigration Act of 1965 and the emergence of the modern US-Mexico border state Kevin R. Johnson
4. The last preference: refugees and the 1965 Immigration Act Brian Soucek
Part II. The 1965 Immigration Act and Policy of Family Unification: 5. The 1965 Immigration Act: family unification and non-discrimination fifty years later Rose Cuison Villazor
6. Workers without families: the unintended consequences Rhacel Salazar Parreñas and Cerissa Salazar Parreñas
7. Sexual deviants need not apply: LGBTQ oppression in the 1965 Immigration Amendments Atticus Lee
Part III. The 1965 Immigration Act and Employment-Based Immigration: 8. Coming to America: the business of trafficked workers Valerie Francisco and Robyn Rodriguez
9. The impact of 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act on the evolution of temporary guest worker programs, or how the 1965 Act punted on creating a rightful place for Mexican worker migration Leticia M. Saucedo
Part IV. Political and Economic Issues: 10. The 1965 Immigration Act: the demographic and political transformation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in US border communities Jeannette Money and Kristina Victor
11. Economic performance of immigrants, following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 Giovanni Peri.

Subject Areas: Law & society [LAQ], Law [L], Civil rights & citizenship [JPVH1], Politics & government [JP]