Americans in Waiting : The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States

In Americans In Waiting, Hiroshi Motomura Discovers In Our National Past A Simple Yet Powerful Approach To Immigration And Citizenship. Rewriting The Conventional Story, Motomura Uncovers How For Over 150 Years, Many Immigrants Were Immediately Put On Track To U.s. Citizenship. They Were Entitled To Overseas Diplomatic Protection And Eligible To Homestead Land On The Western Frontier. Citizens-to-be Were Even Allowed To Vote. In Sum, Immigration Was Assumed To Be A Transition To Citizenship, And Immigrants Were Future Citizens - Americans In Waiting. Once Central To Law And Policy, This View Has All But Vanished. Beginning In The Early Twentieth Century, The United States Began To Treat Its Immigrants In One Of Two Ways: As Signatories To A Contract That Sets The Terms Of Their Stay In This Country, Or As Affiliates Who Can Earn Rights Only As They Become, Over Time, Enmeshed In The Nation's Life. Immigration Is Now Seen Too Often As A Problem To Be Solved, Rather Than A Pillar Of Our Nations Strength. A Panoramic History Of The Past 200 Years Of Immigration And Citizenship In The United States, Americans In Waiting Offers A Clear Lesson: Only By Recovering This Lost History Of Immigration Can We Ensure That Both Current And Future Citizens Share In The Sense Of Belonging That Is Crucial To Full Participation In American Life.--book Jacket. Introduction: Immigrants In America -- Contract And Classical Immigration Law -- Promises, Promises -- All Persons Within The Territorial Jurisdiction -- Alienage And The Ties That Bind -- The Most Tender Connections -- The Lost Story Of Americans-in-waiting -- Transition At A Crossroads -- The Meaning Of Transition -- Race, Belonging, And Transition -- Taking Transition Seriously -- Conclusion : The Idea Of Americans-in-waiting. Hiroshi Motomura. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [205]-242) And Index. 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. Contents......Page 10 Introduction: Immigrants in America......Page 14 1 Contract and Classical Immigration Law......Page 26 2 Promises, Promises......Page 49 3 All Persons Within the Territorial Jurisdiction......Page 74 4 Alienage and the Ties That Bind......Page 91 5 The Most Tender Connections......Page 107 6 The Lost Story of Americans in Waiting......Page 126 7 Transition at a Crossroads......Page 147 8 The Meaning of Transition......Page 162 9 Race, Belonging, and Transition......Page 179 10 Taking Transition Seriously......Page 200 Conclusion: The Idea of Americans in Waiting......Page 212 Notes......Page 216 A......Page 254 C......Page 255 D......Page 256 F......Page 257 G......Page 258 I......Page 259 L......Page 260 N......Page 261 P......Page 262 S......Page 263 U......Page 264 Z......Page 265 America is unquestionably a nation of immigrants. And yet throughout its history the practicalities of immigration have inspired more questions than consensus. Who should be admitted? What should the path to citizenship be? Despite national security concerns over enemies penetrating our borders, the number of foreign-born people living in the United States grew to 35 million in 2005, an all-time high. A coherent and rational immigrant policy is more necessary than ever. In Americans in Waiting, Hiroshi Motomura discovers in our national past a simple yet powerful approach to immigration and ci