Who Was Welcomed, Who Was Not: A History of Citizenship and Immigration Policy in America

Who Was Welcomed recounts how America's citizenship and immigration policies developed, before and after Independence, why aspects of them changed, how one influenced the other. Three entities made most of the changes: Congress, the Federal Courts, and the immigration agency, once Congress created it in 1891. The story retraces historical biases that formed a background for the policies enacted. American readers will find these pervasive biases differed from what we have been led to assume. Not everyone was welcomed; who was not changed over time. Significant immigration issues are still with us, this era's iteration. To reduce confusion over what is inevitable and what is not in America's near future, it helps to understand how the nation got here, a history few already know.