Skip to Content

History of Immigration

Ending Birthright Citizenship Would Not Stop Illegal Immigration

Ending Birthright Citizenship Would Be Unconstitutional, Impractical, Expensive, Complicated and Would Not Stop Illegal Immigration

Anti-immigrant groups and legislators have persisted in their attempts to restrict or repeal birthright citizenship in State Houses and the U.S. Congress. Several bills have been introduced that would deny U.S. citizenship to children whose parents are in the U.S. illegally or on temporary visas.  The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution - the cornerstone of American civil rights - affirms that, with very few exceptions, all persons born in the U.S. are U.S. citizens, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. Following the Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves, the Fourteenth Amendment restated the longstanding principle of birthright citizenship, which had been temporarily erased by the Supreme Court's "Dred Scott" decision which denied birthright citizenship to the U.S.-born children of slaves. The Supreme Court has consistently upheld birthright citizenship over the years. The following fact sheet is adapted from the Immigration Policy Center’s Made in America: Myths and Facts About Birthright Citizenship. 

Read more...

Published On: Tue, Jun 15, 2010 | Download File

Re-Living Our Immigrant Past: From Hazleton to Arizona and Back Again

By Jeffrey Kaye

The intent of Arizona’s SB 1070, the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” is to chase illegal immigrants out of the state. Or, as the new law puts it more formally: “to make attrition through enforcement the public policy of all state and local government agencies in Arizona.” The stern new law quickly made Arizona the target of international news headlines, boycotts, demonstrations, and lawsuits—most recently by the ACLU and a coalition of civil rights groups. While the spotlight has been on Arizona, however, copycat legislation has been brewing in at least 16 other states, supported to one extent or another by two organizations that have made a cause of providing legal and political assistance to lawmakers similarly intent on “attrition through enforcement.”

Read more...

Published On: Fri, May 21, 2010 | Download File

The Lasting Impact of Mendez v. Westminster in the Struggle for Desegregation

In IPC's latest Perspectives on Immigration, Maria Blanco, Executive Director for the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute at Berkeley Law, examines the impact of a federal circuit court’s 1947 decision which found the segregation of Mexican American school children in California unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit Court’s historic decision in the case Mendez v. Westminster proved to be critical in the strategic choices and legal analysis used seven years later in Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case which ended racial segregation in U.S. schools.

Read more...

Published On: Thu, Mar 25, 2010 | Download File

The Immigration Policy Center's Top 10 Resources of 2009

As the year comes to a close, The Immigration Policy Center brings you its top 10 list of resources from 2009.  

Read more...

Published On: Fri, Dec 18, 2009 | Download File

Essential to the Fight: Immigrants in the Military Eight Years After 9/11

From the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, immigrants have made significant contributions to the United States by serving in our military forces. Today, immigrants voluntarily serve in all branches of the U.S. military and are a vital asset to the Department of Defense. To recognize their unique contribution, immigrants serving honorably in the military who are not yet U.S. citizens are granted significant advantages in the naturalization process. Over the past eight years, Congress has amended military-related enlistment and naturalization rules to allow expanded benefits for immigrants and their families and encourage recruitment of immigrants into the U.S. Armed Forces. Without the contributions of immigrants, the military could not meet its recruiting goals and could not fill its need for foreign-language translators, interpreters, and cultural experts. This latest Special Report reflects on the vital role immigrants have and continue to play in keeping our nation safe.

Published On: Mon, Nov 09, 2009 | Download File

Opportunity and Exclusion: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy

As the current debate over undocumented immigration continues to rage, it is important to keep in mind not only that everyone in the United States is ultimately descended from an "immigrant," even Native Americans whose ancestors arrived here thousands of years ago, but that the rules governing immigration change constantly--and often arbitrarily.

Published On: Tue, Nov 25, 2008 | Download File

De-Romanticizing Our Immigrant Past: Why Claiming "My Family Came Legally" Is Often a Myth

Many people assume that their family immigrated to the U.S. legally, or did it “the right way.”  In most cases, this statement does not reflect the fact that the U.S. immigration system was very different when their families arrived, and that their families might not have been allowed to enter had today’s laws been in effect.  In some cases, claiming that a family came “legally” is simply inaccurate—undocumented immigration has been a reality for generations.

Read more...

Published On: Tue, Nov 25, 2008 | Download File

Why Don't They Just Get In Line? The Real Story of Getting a "Green Card" and Coming to the U.S. Legally

Dispels the myth that undocumented immigrants want to be undocumented, and explains why it is nearly impossible for them to simply get in a line to come legally to the U.S.

Published On: Tue, Mar 04, 2008 | Download File

Why Don't They Come Legally

Answers the question, "why don't undocumented immigrants simply come legally?" and provides basic information on how the U.S. legal immigration system works.

Published On: Thu, Feb 28, 2008 | Download File

Immigration: Long Term Trends and America's Future Arrival Rates, Integration Patterns, and Impact on an Aging Society

Immigration has begun to level off and immigrants are climbing the socio-economic ladder and becoming increasingly important to the U.S. economy as workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers supporting the aging Baby Boom generation.

Published On: Tue, Feb 26, 2008 | Download File