Fifty years ago, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act changed the racial and ethnic composition of America, while creating a system of choices - both intended and unintended - that continue to shape today's authorized and unauthorized migration flows to the U.S. This seminar allows students to examine how the U.S. might have looked under different policy regimes; explores the political coalitions that supported major immigration reforms, in 1967, 1986, 1995, and the present day; and considers how states and the judiciary have made a place for immigrants in the U.S. system of rights. The course ends with a discussion of refugee policy and how and whether refugees and immigrants differ under law.
