We Must Have A National Conversation About Immigration Before We Can Achieve Real Reform
One of President Biden’s first acts in office was to announce that he was introducing “Immigration Reform” legislation. While the bill text is not available as of this writing, the White House summary of the “U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021” claims it will provide a path for citizenship for those already here, but only tinkers in small ways with the immigration law itself. This bill will be sure to inspire impassioned arguments, but no matter how that turns out, we will only be repeating our sad history of immigration. We need more.
We need a national conversation on immigration.
This must include a conversation about race, for as I explain below, race has always been inextricably tied to immigration in this country. They cannot be separated. Before such a conversation can begin, there are some basic historical facts which need to be understood.
1. THERE WAS NO REAL IMMIGRATION LAW AT ALL FOR THE FIRST CENTURY OF THIS COUNTRY
An essential fact, which is completely overlooked in the current immigration debate, is that there was no law restricting immigration to the United States for the first century of its existence.[i]
