Immigration Law and Minority Groups Joint Program

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The 1965 Immigration Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, is arguably the most successful federal civil rights law since Reconstruction.  Before 1965, the immigrant stream was overwhelmingly white, and predominantly from the countries of Northern and Western Europe.  Since 1965, a supermajority of immigrants have been people of color from Asia and Central and South America and the United States is expected to become a majority minority nation as a whole by 2043.  However, the 1965 Immigration Act may have ended formal racial discrimination but it did not eliminate race as a critical and problematic concern in the administration of immigration law.  Moreover, it also perpetuated discrimination based on sexual orientation and political opinion.  It failed to account for the interests of Mexican migrant workers who had traveled to the United States for generations but were restricted under the new law.  It also had the effect of giving Africans few opportunities to come to the United States.

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, this joint program that will explore the 1965 Immigration Act’s origins; its legal, political, economic, and cultural effects; and its future, including proposals for alternative systems. 

Business meeting of Section on Immigration Law at program conclusion.
Business meeting of Section on Minority Groups at program conclusion.