Description
From the earliest days of nationhood, the United States has determined who might enter the country and who might be naturalized. In this sweeping review of US immigration policies, Bill Ong Hing points to the racial, ethnic, and social struggles over who should be welcomed into the community of citizens. He shows how shifting visions of America have shaped policies governing asylum, exclusion, amnesty, and border policing. Written for a broad audience, Defining America Through Immigration Policy sets the continuing debates about immigration in the context of what value we as a people have assigned to cultural pluralism in various eras. Hing examines the competing visions of America reflected in immigration debates over the last 225 years. For instance, he compares the rationales and regulations that limited immigration of southern and eastern Europeans to those that excluded Asians in the nineteenth century. He offers a detailed history of the policies and enforcement procedures put in place to limit migration from Mexico, and indicts current border control measures as immoral. He probes into little discussed issues such as the exclusion of gays and lesbians and the impact of political considerations on the availability of amnesty and asylum to various groups of migrants. Hing's spirited discussion and sophisticated analysis will appeal to readers in a wide spectrum of academic disciplines as well as those general readers interested in America's on-going attempts to make one of many.
From the American Revolution to the war in Iraq, the struggle to define who is--and can become--an American
About the Author
Bill Ong Hing is Professor of Law and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis. His previous books include To Be an American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation and Making and Remaking America through Immigration Policy.
Reviews
"[Hing's] understanding of history, drawn from personal experience andparticipation, is piercing and helps to put the recent hysteria inperspective. In his book, he applies the lessons of his decades-longresearch and experience to fundamental issues at a critical time in ournation's history."-from the Foreword by Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union "Defining America through Immigration Policy is an excellent book that can be recommended enthusiastically. Bill Ong Hing is a leading scholar of immigration. This book is a landmark work. Hing is thorough, and covers everything from Benjamin Franklin's attacks on German immigrants to the nativism of the turn-of-the-century directed towards Asians, Southern and Eastern Europeans, Catholics and Jews to contemporary border enforcement, undocumented migration, deportation procedures, and internal migration. He conveys the breadth and depth of his research with ample documentation and presents progressive arguments that should influence policy-makers."-Frank H. Wu, Professor of Law, Howard University, and author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White "Engagingly contemporary (with historical roots) and at the same time carefully detailed in its coverage, Defining America through Immigration Policy is on the forefront of immigration law and policy theorizing. Hing's structure is straightforward, and his framework for organizing the wide range of immigration law issues is effective. He tells a compelling and disturbing social/legal story that gives human faces to congressional acts, executive policies, and frontline enforcement. Hing's blended approach-chronological, contextual, and specific-provides a readily accessible way into what could otherwise be an information morass. This significant strength distinguishes Defining America through Political Participation."-Eric K. Yamamoto, Professor of Law, University of Hawaii School of Law "[An] insightful, entertaining book [is] a must read for anyone interested in the field of US immigration and the defining of the American character."-Choice "Professor Hing is the rare policy scholar who can provide extensive historical information while making it accessible, interesting and enjoyable for the reader. His new book provides the same type of thoughtful analyses... Overall the book makes an important contribution to immigration history, ethnic studies and public policy. It provides one of the first comprehensive reviews of the tensions between wanted and unwanted immigrants from a policy perspective. It also provides insights into why we hold certain beliefs about immigrants and immigration policy."-Journal of Ethnic History "This is a welcome, hard-headed palliative to certain narratives about US immigration history... the value of this book lies more in the scope of erudition about US immigration history and his mastery of many facets of that vast, complex, and controversial history that has indeed defined America as claimed."-Ethnic and Racial Studies "Read this book. It is the best survey of the history of U.S. immigration policy to be published in at least a half-century and perhaps ever... Defining America through Immigration Policy is a dazzling book with a moral core. In the end it is a hopeful book as well."-Pacific Historical Review "In a tour de force of detailed facts and legal citations, [Hing] wades through the complex legal measures that have guided immigration law and policy over more than two centuries, at each stage linking specific legal actions with dominant views of the 'ordinary American.'"-Law & Politics Book Review
Book Information
ISBN 9781592132331
Author Bill Ong Hing
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Temple University Press,U.S.
Publisher Temple University Press,U.S.
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 20mm
From the American Revolution to the war in Iraq, the struggle to define who is--and can become--an American
About the Author
Bill Ong Hing is Professor of Law and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis. His previous books include To Be an American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation and Making and Remaking America through Immigration Policy.
Reviews
"[Hing's] understanding of history, drawn from personal experience andparticipation, is piercing and helps to put the recent hysteria inperspective. In his book, he applies the lessons of his decades-longresearch and experience to fundamental issues at a critical time in ournation's history."-from the Foreword by Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union "Defining America through Immigration Policy is an excellent book that can be recommended enthusiastically. Bill Ong Hing is a leading scholar of immigration. This book is a landmark work. Hing is thorough, and covers everything from Benjamin Franklin's attacks on German immigrants to the nativism of the turn-of-the-century directed towards Asians, Southern and Eastern Europeans, Catholics and Jews to contemporary border enforcement, undocumented migration, deportation procedures, and internal migration. He conveys the breadth and depth of his research with ample documentation and presents progressive arguments that should influence policy-makers."-Frank H. Wu, Professor of Law, Howard University, and author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White "Engagingly contemporary (with historical roots) and at the same time carefully detailed in its coverage, Defining America through Immigration Policy is on the forefront of immigration law and policy theorizing. Hing's structure is straightforward, and his framework for organizing the wide range of immigration law issues is effective. He tells a compelling and disturbing social/legal story that gives human faces to congressional acts, executive policies, and frontline enforcement. Hing's blended approach-chronological, contextual, and specific-provides a readily accessible way into what could otherwise be an information morass. This significant strength distinguishes Defining America through Political Participation."-Eric K. Yamamoto, Professor of Law, University of Hawaii School of Law "[An] insightful, entertaining book [is] a must read for anyone interested in the field of US immigration and the defining of the American character."-Choice "Professor Hing is the rare policy scholar who can provide extensive historical information while making it accessible, interesting and enjoyable for the reader. His new book provides the same type of thoughtful analyses... Overall the book makes an important contribution to immigration history, ethnic studies and public policy. It provides one of the first comprehensive reviews of the tensions between wanted and unwanted immigrants from a policy perspective. It also provides insights into why we hold certain beliefs about immigrants and immigration policy."-Journal of Ethnic History "This is a welcome, hard-headed palliative to certain narratives about US immigration history... the value of this book lies more in the scope of erudition about US immigration history and his mastery of many facets of that vast, complex, and controversial history that has indeed defined America as claimed."-Ethnic and Racial Studies "Read this book. It is the best survey of the history of U.S. immigration policy to be published in at least a half-century and perhaps ever... Defining America through Immigration Policy is a dazzling book with a moral core. In the end it is a hopeful book as well."-Pacific Historical Review "In a tour de force of detailed facts and legal citations, [Hing] wades through the complex legal measures that have guided immigration law and policy over more than two centuries, at each stage linking specific legal actions with dominant views of the 'ordinary American.'"-Law & Politics Book Review
Book Information
ISBN 9781592132331
Author Bill Ong Hing
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Temple University Press,U.S.
Publisher Temple University Press,U.S.
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 20mm
