Hiroshi Motomura

the lost story of immigration and citizenship in the United States

Americans-in-waiting

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

David A. Martin

Kay Hailbronner

There is general agreement today that traditional approaches to immigration admissions in the major receiving countries of the West have serious shortcomings either in concept or implementation, or at times in both. These essays, all written by leading immigration experts, consider the philosophical and moral constraints on immigration law and policy, the basic elements of a comprehensive migration policy, and specific policy areas, including family reunification and asylum. Taken together, these perspectives represent a fresh, comparative look at some of the most urgent issues in this pivotal area of law and policy.

The Search for Workable Policies in Germany and the United States

Immigration Admissions

Professor of Law Hiroshi Motomura

Some of the most pressing questions in immigration law and policy today concern the problem of immigration controls. How are immigration laws administered, and how are they enforced against those who enter and remain in a receiving country without legal permission? Comparing the United States and Germany, two of the four extended essays in this volume concern enforcement; the other two address techniques for managing high-volume asylum systems in both countries.

Immigration Controls

Although America is unquestionably a nation of immigrants, its immigration policies have inspired more questions than consensus on who should be admitted and what the path to citizenship should be. In Americans in Waiting, Hiroshi Motomura looks to a forgotten part of our past to show how, for over 150 years, immigration was assumed to be a transition to citizenship, with immigrants essentially being treated as future citizens--Americans in waiting. Challenging current conceptions, the author deftly uncovers how this view, once so central to law and policy, has all but vanished. Motomura explains how America could create a more unified society by recovering this lost history and by giving immigrants more, but at the same time asking more of them. A timely, panoramic chronicle of immigration and citizenship in the United States, Americans in Waiting offers new ideas and a fresh perspective on current debates.

The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States

Americans in Waiting

Hiroshi Motomura

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