America's Immigration Policy Fiasco: Learning from Past Mistakes

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.