The Struggle for Fairness

Forging the Immigration Act of 1965
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-3-11-223381-8
Verlag: De Gruyter

Buch, Englisch, Band 8, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 540 g

Reihe: Migrations in History

Crafting immigration law is one of the most contentious responsibilities of the US Congress.  The crux of these ongoing debates is always a struggle for fairness. This book centers on the legislative dynamics that repealed race-based admissions in the Immigration Act of 1965. It explores new lines of research and offers fresh analytic perspectives, while building on a solid scholarship of US immigration history. By studying the drafters’ projections on early versions of the bill and other primary source material, this book documents that the sponsors of the law understood that the 1965 Act would diversify immigrant admissions. Detailed statistical analysis of post-1965 immigration data reveals a more nuanced set of outcomes.

Underpinning this book is a confluence of three streams driving immigration legislation in the 20th century: a belief in the racial superiority of certain nationalities and peoples (race), an ambition among certain regions and ideological groups to retain political control (power), and a deep-seated preference to select people by class, connections, or personal attributes (ideology of deserving). The paradigm serves as a lens for a deeper analysis and new understanding of the legislation. The book concludes by analyzing the paradigm today and offering three lessons from the 1965 Act.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wasem, Ruth Ellen

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Ruth Ellen Wasem is a Senior Fellow at Cleveland State University, Ohio, and previously a specialist in immigration policy at the US Library of Congress and a professor of policy practice at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, USA.