Scholars, journalists, and policymakers have long argued that the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act dramatically reshaped the demographic composition of the United States. In A Nation of Immigrants Reconsidered, leading scholars of immigration explore how the political and ideological struggles of the "age of restriction"--from 1924 to 1965--paved the way for the changes to come. The essays examine how geopolitics, civil rights, perceptions of America's role as a humanitarian sanctuary, and economic priorities led government officials to facilitate the entrance of specific immigrant groups, thereby establishing the legal precedents for future policies. Eye-opening articles discuss Japanese war brides and changing views of miscegenation, the recruitment of former Nazi scientists, a temporary workers program with Japanese immigrants, the emotional separation of Mexican immigrant families, Puerto Rican youth’s efforts to claim an American identity, and the restaurant raids of conscripted Chinese sailors during World War II. Contributors: Eiichiro Azuma, David Cook-Martín, David FitzGerald, Monique Laney, Heather Lee, Kathleen López, Laura Madokoro, Ronald L. Mize, Arissa H. Oh, Ana Elizabeth Rosas, Lorrin Thomas, Ruth Ellen Wasem, and Elliott Young

本書は、一九六五年の移民法改正という歴史的転換点の「前夜」を鮮烈に描き出す、魂の学術書です。制限の時代とされた一九二四年からの四十年間、水面下で蠢いていた政治的野心や人道主義、そして国家の都合によって翻弄された人々の肉声を、気鋭の執筆陣が緻密に拾い上げています。 単なる統計の羅列ではなく、日本人戦争花嫁やナチス科学者の勧誘といった多角的な断層から、アメリカという国家の「正体」を鋭く問い直す筆致には圧倒されます。法と制度が個人のアイデンティティや家族の絆をいかに引き裂き、あるいは再編したのか。そのドラマチックなまでの真実の記録は、現代の境界線を揺さぶる知的な興奮に満ちています。