Chapter Thirteen: Racism,
Nativism, and Immigration Policy
By Tanya Maria Golash-Boza
Immigration and Racism
Immigration laws can impact racial groups
even when the law does not mention race.
This can happen through immigration and
the process of becoming a citizen.
Early laws did mention race. The
Naturalization Law of 1790 indicated that:
“Only free white persons who had lived in
the United States for at least two years
were eligible for citizenship.” (p. 360)
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
This piece of legislation in place until 1943
prevented Chinese laborers from entering
the United States using both race and class
as categories of exclusion.
The 1893 case Fong Yue Ting v. United States
indicated that deportation was not a
punishment, but an administrative act where
certain constitutional provisions did not
apply such as a right to trial by jury.
More Racial Exclusions
-Immigration Act of 1924—created
exclusions for Southern and Eastern
Europeans.
-1924 Oriental Exclusion Act—created
exclusions for people coming from most of
Asia.
-The Border Patrol was created.
From 1924 to 1964 Few Immigrants
Permitted Entry
Nativism (the tendency to favor those
born within a country over those who
come from other countries) was
practiced when deportations of Mexicans
occurred in 1925, 1929, and in the 1930s
 In 1942 up to 1964, the Bracero
Program—a guest worker program for
Mexican men—was in place

From 1924 to 1964 Few Immigrants
Permitted Entry
Operation Wetback—many raids in the
1950s to arrest workers suspected of
being undocumented. These workers had
lives and families in the United States.
 McCarran Internal Security Act—this act
legalized the deportation of immigrants
who were suspected of associating with
the Communist Party.

1965 Immigration and Nationality
Act
This act overturned the exclusionary
policies and set a universal quota of 20,000
people. People could now enter based on
family relationship, skills, or education.
The results were that immigration increased
from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean
and undocumented immigration from
Mexico increased.
Asian Immigration
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Sending countries for Asian immigrants
include China, Philippines, India, Korea, and
Vietnam
Chinese immigrants were an early group to
immigrate to the United States and came in
at a steady pace until the Exclusion Acts
Philippines was a U.S. colony from 1898 until
1946 from which they could freely enter the
United States until 1934, when immigration
was restricted, then opened up again with
the 1965 act.
Asian Immigration
Koreans arrived as laborers, then faced
restrictions until many women arrived
after the Korean war as wives of service
men. High levels of immigration between
1975 and 1990.
 Vietnamese entered the country as
refugees between 1971 and 1980.

Latin American and Caribbean
Immigration
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Latin American migration numbers were high
in the 1990s, but not before that with the
exception of Mexico. Mexicans stayed
temporarily up until the 1970s.
Central American immigration increased in
the 1960s, and especially in the 1980s due to
civil wars and violence.
Caribbean persons have always been
immigrating, and increased since 1965, with
Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Jamaica.
Undocumented Immigration
Undocumented immigrants come from
various places.
In terms of Mexico, prior to 1965, there
were no numerical limits on the number of
immigrants to be admitted from Mexico.
After 1965, with a 20,000 quota
undocumented immigration escalated in
numbers because of employment
opportunities. In the 1970s, the public
began to see this as a problem.
Immigration Reform and Control
Act of 1986
Two provisions:
Included a path to become documented for
those who met certain qualifications
Employers would be sanctioned for hiring
undocumented workers
Many Mexicans decided to stay in the United
States, which was something new for both
immigrants and local-born whites. Fear of the
racial other of immigrants and their “drain on
society” circulated around the discussion of
this law.
State Propositions
One California proposition denied
undocumented immigrants public
education and public aid; this passed but
was found unconstitutional; just like in
earlier U.S. history the immigrants were
being used as scapegoats by politicians for
poor economic times
 Arizona in 2010, Georgia in 2011, and
Alabama in 2011 all passed laws that
targeted undocumented immigrants.

More Immigrant Laws Focusing on
Deportation and Detention passed in
1996  Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act 1996: This law also
prevented documented immigrants from
accessing public aid benefits for five years.
 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996: This law created a
stipulation for mandatory deportation for
certain crimes and could be retroactive.
 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act:
Mandated automatic detention in many cases
and halted the ability to get judicial review of
deportation.
Together the laws weakened the protections for
immigrants.
1996 Laws
Judicial review not provided for
deportation cases
 Detention required for immigrants under
investigation for violations of immigration
law
 Allowed the use of secret evidence
 Allowed legal permanent residents to be
deported for crimes committed outside
the time period of the 1996 laws

Top Five Countries for Deportees
Mexico
Honduras
Guatemala
El Salvador
Brazil
Latin Americans are more likely to be
deported than Asians.
Nativism in the Twenty-First
Century
According to Sanchez (1997), three
characteristics of contemporary nativism:
-preference for English
-fear that immigrants are taking affirmative
action slots of the U.S. born
-fear that immigrants draw from public
resources like hospitals, schools, and public
aide
DREAM ACT
Attempted legislation to allow adults and
children who were brought to the United
States as children to gain documented
status, so they can attend school and find
employment.
Immigration legislation still has a
disproportionate impact on people of color.
Conclusion
Nativism and racism influenced
immigration policy and impacted the lives
of many people
 This nativism and racism permeated the
laws passed by the U.S. government.
 Struggles continue today for individuals
and family members who do not have a
path to becoming documented
immigrants
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