immigration policy — Bunk History

Cover of the book "Immigration and Apocalypse"

How End Times Theology Shaped U.S. Immigration Policy

Much of the rhetoric surrounding immigration debates is steeped in the language of Revelation, argues New Testament professor Yii-Jan Lin.

by Brandon Grafius via Sojourners on February 21, 2025

Art piece of a hand holding barbed wire.

Do Border

Who can migrate to the US and make their home here? Who gets to drop US-made bombs, and who is expected to suffer them? These are not unrelated questions.

by Daniel Denvir via n+1 on August 22, 2024

"Temple of Liberty" immigration policy cartoon

How the Federal Government Came to Control Immigration Policy and Why It Matters

The newly empowered federal state created during Reconstruction could restrict immigration much more comprehensively than any state—as Chinese laborers soon discovered.

by Kevin Kenny via Muster on April 2, 2024

Illustration of immigrants on a boat looking at the Statue of Liberty

Birth of A National Immigration Policy

Until the Civil War, regulating immigration to the US was left to individual states. That changed with Emancipation and the legal end of slavery.

by Kevin Kenny, Matthew Wills, Michael A. Schoeppner, Katherine Carper via JSTOR Daily on February 15, 2024

Obama, Reagan, Trump, George W Bush, and Biden

Things Fall Apart: How the Middle Ground on Immigration Collapsed

Politicians from both sides used to agree on immigration policy. What happened?

by Kirk Semple, Jonah M. Kessel via New York Times Op-Docs on January 23, 2024

Roger Taney.

On “Mobility and Sovereignty: The Nineteenth-Century Origins of Immigration Restriction”

Examining slavery, Indian removal, and state policies regulating mobility to trace the constitutional origins of immigration restriction in the 1800s.

by Kevin Kenny via Process: A Blog for American History on February 28, 2023

Migrants discuss their journey in 2018, using a map posted inside a sports complex in Mexico City.

Biden’s Announced Asylum Transit Ban Undermines Access to Life-Saving Protection

Similar bars have been marshaled against Central Americans since the late 1980s — severely undermining access to asylum.

by Yael Schacher via Made By History on January 23, 2023

A migrant child plays with a Captain America action figure by the U.S. border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

U.S. Policies Like Title 42 Make Migrants More Vulnerable to Smugglers

Since the 1960s, border enforcement and deterrence policies have made migrants vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

by Ivón Padilla-Rodríguez via Made By History on January 3, 2023

Migrants feet and bags after being dropped off within view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Aug. 11.

The Disturbing Precedent for Busing Migrants to Other States

In the 19th century, Americans dumped poor migrants overseas. Now some governors are shipping them off to other states.

by Hidetaka Hirota via Made By History on August 16, 2022

"The Patriot" Newspaper featuring a political cartoon in which immigrants hold signs of disloyalty while Americans stand for constitution and laws.

Xenophobia Powers the United States

Since 1892, the United States has deported more immigrants (over 57 million) than any other nation.

by Erika Lee via Public Books on June 15, 2022

Artwork depicting The Statue of Liberty's back.

America Never Wanted the Tired, Poor, Huddled Masses

The U.S. is a diverse nation of immigrants—but it was not intended to be, and its historical biases continue to haunt the present.

by Caitlin Dickerson via The Atlantic on April 5, 2021

A view looking up at the Statue of Liberty

Immigration: What We’ve Done, What We Must Do

Once, abolitionists had to imagine a world without slavery. Can we similarly envision a world where migrants are offered justice?

by Allison Brownell Tirres via Public Books on March 2, 2021

Men lined up on a set of stairs.

Who Is "Essential"?

On the need to rethink the U.S. immigration and refugee policy, which was shaped as part of Cold War strategy.

by Mae Ngai via Perspectives on History on August 21, 2020

Impossible Contradictions

Even Donald Trump’s most draconian and violent immigration policies are still circumscribed by the interests of capital.

by Brendan O'Connor via The Baffler on February 4, 2020

Elizabeth Warren at a debate podium.

Why Family Separation Is So Central to Trump’s Immigration Vision

Strengthening family ties has been key to overcoming nativism — and in 2020, it can do so again.

by Maddalena Marinari via Made By History on December 21, 2019

The Immigration Crisis Archive

How did today's bipartisan understanding of immigration—as an intolerable threat that justifies any means to stop it—take hold?

by César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández via Public Books on October 25, 2019

Immigration Enforcement and the U.S.-Mexico Border

A microsyllabus on the history of the U.S.-Mexico border, refugees, and deportation.

by Adam Goodman, Maddalena Marinari, Evan Tarapata, María Cristina García via The Abusable Past on September 11, 2019

Ken Cuccinelli

How President Trump’s New Immigration Rule Could Erode the Social Safety Net

The new rule dramatically expands the meaning of public charge.

by Salonee Bhaman via Made By History on August 14, 2019

Know Nothing flag reading "Beware of foreign influence."

The 19th Century Roots of Federal Immigration Policy

Let’s get the history of American immigration policy straight.

by Hidetaka Hiroka via Twitter on July 21, 2019

Dillingham Commission members.

The 41-Volume Government Report That Turned Immigration into a Problem

In 1911, the Dillingham Commission set a half-century precedent for screening out 'undesirable' newcomers.

by Robert F. Zeidel via Zócalo Public Square on July 16, 2018

U.S. Immigration Policy Has Always Prioritized Keeping Families Together

Everyone from immigration advocates to bigots and nativists have valued family unity.

by Paul A. Kramer via Made By History on June 26, 2018

The Roots of Trump’s Immigration Barbarity

The outrage over family separation creates an opportunity to reverse the bipartisan consensus that has long victimized immigrants.

by Daniel Denvir via Jacobin on June 20, 2018

Trump looks at border wall construction prototypes.

The Militarization of Immigration Enforcement is Not Unique to Trump

Angry that ICE is ripping families apart? Don’t just blame Trump. Blame Clinton, Bush and Obama, too.

by Carly Goodman via Made By History on June 11, 2018

Sending Even More Immigrants to Prison

Despite Jeff Sessions’ new mandate along the border, the Justice Department has prioritized immigration offenses for years.

by Yolanda Martinez via The Marshall Project on May 20, 2018

How the Haitian Refugee Crisis Led to the Indefinite Detention of Immigrants

It wasn't always this way.

by Carl Lindskoog via Made By History on April 9, 2018

The GOP's Evolution On Immigration

Republicans used to take a softer line on immigration. What happened?

by Don Gonyea via NPR on January 25, 2018

Fans of Trump’s Immigration Views Should Remember How Figures Like Him Targeted Their Ancestors

Keeping the Irish poor out of America helped shape our restrictive immigration policies.

by Hidetaka Hiroka via Made By History on January 16, 2018

Trump’s Move to End DACA and Echoes of the Immigration Act of 1924

By ending DACA, President Trump seems to be trying to resurrect a national immigration policy defined by racial engineering.

by Jelani Cobb via The New Yorker on September 5, 2017

The Real History of American Immigration

Trump's break with tradition may be good or bad, but it's definitely different.

by Joshua Zeitz via Politico Magazine on August 6, 2017

A Brief History of America’s ‘Love-Hate Relationship’ With Immigration

Donald Trump’s restrictive plan is reminiscent of legislation from 100 years ago.

by Alan M. Kraut, Priscilla Alvarez via The Atlantic on February 19, 2017

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