Collision Course : The Strange Convergence of Affirmative Action and Immigration Policy in America

When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 were passed, they were seen as triumphs of liberal reform applauded by the majority of Americans. But today, as Hugh Graham shows in Collision Course, affirmative action is foundering in the great waves of immigration from Asia and Latin America, leading to direct conflict for jobs, housing, education, and government preference programs. How did two such well-intended laws come to loggerheads? Graham argues that a sea change occurred in American political life in the late 1960s, when a system of split government--one party holding the White House, the other holding Congress--divided authority and enhanced the ability of interest groups to win expanded benefits. In civil rights, this led to a shift from nondiscrimination to the race-conscious remedies of hard affirmative action. In immigration, it led to a surge that by 2000 had brought 35 million immigrants to America, 26 million of them Asian or Latin American and therefore eligible, as "official minorities," for affirmative action preferences. The policies collided when employers, acting under affirmative action plans, hired millions of immigrants while leaving high unemployment among inner-city blacks. Affirmative action for immigrants stirred wide resentment and drew new attention to policy contradictions. Graham sees a troubled future for both programs. As the economy weakens and antiterrorist border controls tighten, the competition for jobs will intensify pressure on affirmative action and invite new restrictions on immigration. Graham's insightful interpretation of the unintended consequences of these policies is original and controversial. A short, focused, and even-handed narrative, it illuminates many of the issues that vex the United States today. "When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 were passed, they were seen as triumphs of liberal reform applauded by the majority of Americans. But today, as Hugh Graham shows in Collision Course, affirmative action is foundering in the great waves of immigration from Asia and Latin America, leading to direct conflict for jobs, housing, education, and government preference programs." "How did two such well-intended laws come to loggerheads? Graham argues that a sea change occurred in American political life in the late 1960s, when a system of split government - one party holding the White House, the other holding Congress - divided authority and enhanced the ability of interest groups to win expanded benefits. In civil rights, this led to a shift from nondiscrimination to the race-conscious remedies of hard affirmative action. In immigration, it led to a surge that by 2000 had brought 35 million immigrants to America, 26 million of them Asian or Latin American and therefore eligible, as "official minorities," for affirmative action preferences. The policies collided when employers, acting under affirmative action plans, hired millions of immigrants while leaving high unemployment among inner-city blacks. Rising competition for affirmative action benefits by Latinos stirred black resentment; participation by Asians, whose average family income and education exceeded that of whites, was widely viewed as unfair. The sharp rise in racially mixed marriages among the children of immigrants challenged the one-drop rule and threatened the concept of official minorities upon which affirmative action depended."--Jacket When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 were passed, they were seen as triumphs of liberal reform. Yet today affirmative action is foundering in the great waves of immigration from Asia and Latin America, leading to direct competition for jobs, housing, education, and government preference programs. In Collision Course, Hugh Davis Graham explains how two such well-intended laws came into conflict with each other when employers, acting under affirmative action plans, hired millions of new immigrants ushered in by the Immigration Act, while leaving high unemployment among inner-city blacks. He shows how affirmative action for immigrants stirred wide resentment and drew new attention to policy contradictions. Graham sees a troubled future for both programs. As the economy weakens and antiterrorist border controls tighten, the competition for jobs will intensify pressure on affirmative action and invite new restrictions on immigration. Graham's insightful interpretation of the unintended consequences of these policies is original and controversial. Contents......Page 8 Preface and Acknowledgments......Page 10 1 Introduction......Page 12 2 Civil Rights Reform in the 1960s......Page 24 3 Immigration Reform in the 1960s......Page 46 4 Origins and Development of Race-Conscious Affirmative Action......Page 76 5 The Return of Mass Immigration......Page 104 6 The Strange Convergence of Affirmative Action and Immigration Policy......Page 142 7 Conclusion......Page 176 Notes......Page 212 A......Page 240 C......Page 242 D......Page 244 E......Page 245 G......Page 246 I......Page 247 L......Page 249 M......Page 250 N......Page 251 P......Page 252 R......Page 253 S......Page 254 U......Page 255 W......Page 256 Z......Page 257 Contents 8 Preface and Acknowledgments 10 1 Introduction 12 2 Civil Rights Reform in the 1960s 24 3 Immigration Reform in the 1960s 46 4 Origins and Development of Race-Conscious Affirmative Action 76 5 The Return of Mass Immigration 104 6 The Strange Convergence of Affirmative Action and Immigration Policy 142 7 Conclusion 176 Notes 212 Index 240 A 240 B 242 C 242 D 244 E 245 F 246 G 246 H 247 I 247 J 249 K 249 L 249 M 250 N 251 O 252 P 252 Q 253 R 253 S 254 T 255 U 255 V 256 W 256 Y 257 Z 257 In the early 1990s, against a backdrop of economic recession and rising job insecurity in the United States, controversy over affirmative action and immigration policy intensified.