How the Immigration Act of 1965 Changed the Face of America

History ^ | August 12th 2019 | LESLEY KENNEDY

[Menes]

Oh yes, I know...

Icould be wrong, sir, but in his last years of life, this particular Congressman realized what a mistake he had made by opening the immigration floodgates.

But by then it was too late: in 1972 he was defeated in a primary due to his resistance against feminism and the Equal Rights Act.
So, though he was definitely a “man of the left” on immigration matters, he might have been a little more moderate in his stance on feminism.

And unfortunately, he had too many supporters in both houses of Congress, as has already been pointed out by participants in this debate.

At the same time, his opponent Sam Ervin, a down-to-earth conservative Southern Democrat and a steadfast defender of the old immigration law, was derided by large parts of the media, who lent support to the immigration reformers in Congress.

And the whole matter went even worse with the present immigration law, which was enacted in 1990. H1-B and visa lottery anyone? Sigh.

[Pelham]

“Icould be wrong, sir, but in his last years of life, this particular Congressman realized what a mistake he had made by opening the immigration floodgates.”

I don’t know which Congressman you are referring to.

You do have a good knowledge of American political history from that time.

[Menes]

Very sorry, but I confused the staffer you were referring to with Congressman Emanuel Celler, who sponsored the immigration bill in the House.

My bad :-(

He had a strong anti-quota-system track record: his 1924 maiden speech in the House was critical of the then brand-new Johnson-Reed Act (the second quota law; the first had been enacted three years previously, and the final one came along in 1929).

I have an American friend who is 91 years old and still remembers Congressman Celler.
But I have heard that Celler really became critical of the 1965 Immigration Act - but by that time the damage had been done :-(

The Center for Immigration Studies has an article online dealing with “our subject”, the Hart-Celler Act, too.

This article, among other things, sheds a light the role of Congressman Francis Walter in the immigration debate of the Eisenhower/Kennedy era, too. Walter, although a Democrat, robustly defended “his” immigration law, the one he had co-sponsored in 1952.

I can warmly recommend it, I just don’t know whether linking to it from here might be allowed by the moderation (this is also why I did not link to Mr. Auster’s essay “The Path...”. I really am unsure how linking might go down with the moderators).

P. S.: Thank you very much for your kind words about me, Mr. Pelham. They are greatly appreciated :-)

You see, I’m a historian by training, and in spite of having a focus on the Middle Ages, I’ve always been interested in American history - due to personal sympathies ;-)

Once, aeons ago, I was asked to hold a lecture on the “formation of the American People”. Thus, I had to do research on the theme of migration to the US then and now. A really fascinating task it was for me, which I remember with fondness even today.

[Pelham]

“Once, aeons ago, I was asked to hold a lecture on the “formation of the American People”. Thus, I had to do research on the theme of migration to the US then and now. “

If you haven’t read “Albion’s Seed”, David Hackett Fischer, you really should. You’ll enjoy it. He writes about four migrations from Great Britain that formed the culture of Colonial America. My own roots are largely the “Cavalier” culture of southern England and the Borderland Scots-Irish.

[Menes]

Hello,

that’s a wonderful recommendation. Thanks a lot :-)

Furthermore, it shows an aspect of American immigration history I hadn’t been aware of. Wow.

What I had known about British immigration to the US was that Southern Whites have, on average, a far greater percentage of British ancestry that the average White American.
That is because the great European immigration waves from Europe from ca. 1860 to the 1920s did not touch the South very much; most of these immigrants went to the industrial cities in the North.
After all, that’s where the economy was booming and vast amounts of jobs could be found for applicants of practically every skill level :-)