Skip to main content

America's Immigration Policy Fiasco: Learning from Past Mistakes

Author(s): Massey, Douglas S.

Download
To refer to this page use: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/pr1cb4z
Abstract: Following landmark immigration reforms enacted in 1965 to eliminate the taint of racism from U.S. immigration law, America's immigration and border policies took an increasingly restrictive turn. Hard numerical limits were imposed on immigration from the Western Hemisphere for the first time, and in subsequent years these limits were tightened, drastically reducing opportunities for legal entry from our closest neighbor and largest immigrant-sending nation, inevitably giving rise to mass undocumented migration. In response to the rising tide of apprehensions, U.S. policy makers increased border enforcement exponentially and later scaled up deportations to record levels. Immigration enforcement presently costs an estimated $18 billion per year; at more than 20,000 the number of Border Patrol Officers is at an all-time high; and deportations occur at the unprecedented rate of 400,000 per year.
Publication Date: Jul-2013
Citation: Massey, Douglas S. (2013). America's Immigration Policy Fiasco: Learning from Past Mistakes. Daedalus, 142 (3), 5 - 15. doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00215
DOI: doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00215
ISSN: 0011-5266
EISSN: 1548-6192
Pages: 5 - 15
Type of Material: Journal Article
Journal/Proceeding Title: Daedalus
Version: Author's manuscript



Items in OAR@Princeton are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.