Should the American government policy favor certain kinds of immigrants? Should preference be given to the neediest applicants? The most talented? The most oppressed? the richest? Should applicants from certain countries be given priority? Why or why not?

Summary of Chapter:

1) Immigration to the US has been consistent since the country achieved its independence, but in the last 30 years the number of legal immigrants has even exceeded the numbers of the early 1900s

2) Immigration has been regulated by US; the first significant restriction was the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

3)subsequent legislation through the national origins system favored northern and western Europeans. Not until 1965 were quotas by nations largely lifted.

4) Immigration policy is impacted by economic demands for workers who cannot be found among citizens. These workers may be professionals, but they also include large numbers of people who are prepared to do hard labor for wages deemed too low for most citizens but which are attractive to many people outside the US

5) Issues such as population growth, the brain drain, mixed status households and English language acquisition influence contemporary immigration policy.

6) Illegal immigration remains formidable and heightened by new concerns about securing our borders since the 09-11-2001 terrorist attacks

7) Economically, immigration impacts local communities differently, but the new arrivals typically pay taxes and energize the national economy

8) Refugees present a special challenge to policy makers who balance humanitarian values against an unwillingness to accept all those who are fleeing poverty and political unrest.