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

by Hiroshi Motomura

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199887439
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/17/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Hiroshi Motomura is Susan Westerberg Prager Professor of Law at UCLA and author of Americans in Waiting.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Immigrants in America     3
Contract and Classical Immigration Law     15
Promises, Promises     38
All Persons Within the Territorial Jurisdiction     63
Alienage and the Ties That Bind     80
The Most Tender Connections     96
The Lost Story of Americans in Waiting     115
Transition at a Crossroads     136
The Meaning of Transition     151
Race, Belonging, and Transition     168
Taking Transition Seriously     189
Conclusion: The Idea of Americans in Waiting     201
Notes     205
Index     243

What People are Saying About This

T. Alexander Aleinikoff

"Motomura recovers an important conception of immigration implicit in U.S. law and policy in earlier times: the idea of immigrants as future citizens. In Motomura's skillful hands, the concept takes on new life and provides important insights into current debates on citizenship. With comprehensive historical sweep and theoretical insight, Americans in Waiting masterfully charts the way to more inclusive policies that are true to the U.S.'s identity as a nation of immigrants and that promote a robust and cohesive notion of citizenship." -- T. Alexander Aleinikoff, author of Semblances of Sovereignty: The Constitution, The State, and American Citizenship

Rodolfo O. de la Garza

"A unique, original and insightful analysis of policies regarding immigrant rights. Based on a careful reading of an impressively wide range of legal decisions, few of which are part of the corpus of the most significant social scientific literature on immigration law, he develops a tripartite conceptualization that illustrates alternative theories of immigrant rights. Americans in Waiting merits the attention of all serious students of immigrant incorporation." -- Rodolfo O. de la Garza, author of Making Americans, Remaking America: Immigration and Immigrant Policy

Lucy Salyer

"Americans in Waiting is a rare achievement in its ability to engage both non-specialists and scholarly and professional audiences. Motomura elegantly weaves together the history and modern developments of immigration law and American conceptions of immigrants, making complex topics much more understandable. His provocative proposal--that the United States should treat lawful immigrants as future citizens, conferring upon them equal rights and benefits as they establish permanent residence--is certain to spark a healthy debate about the future of American immigration and citizenship. This is a timely book, and one that encourages us to think more deeply about the consequences of American citizenship policies." -- Lucy Salyer, author of Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law

Edward M. Kennedy

"Hiroshi Motomura's portrait of immigration history in the United States is as poignant as it is precise. Americans in Waiting emphasizes the need to treat lawful immigrants more inclusively, and welcome them as future citizens who will help revitalize the American Dream for future generations, as they have done throughout history." -- U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Editorial Reviews

"Hiroshi Motomura's portrait of immigration history in the United States is as poignant as it is precise. Americans in Waiting emphasizes the need to treat lawful immigrants more inclusively, and welcome them as future citizens who will help revitalize the American Dream for future generations, as they have done throughout history."—U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy

"Motomura recovers an important conception of immigration implicit in U.S. law and policy in earlier times: the idea of immigrants as future citizens. In Motomuras skillful hands, the concept takes on new life and provides important insights into current debates on citizenship. With comprehensive historical sweep and theoretical insight, Americans in Waiting masterfully charts the way to more inclusive policies that are true to the U.S.'s identity as a nation of immigrants and that promote a robust and cohesive notion of citizenship."—T. Alexander Aleinikoff, author of Semblances of Sovereignty: The Constitution, The State, and American Citizenship

"Americans in Waiting is a rare achievement in its ability to engage both non-specialists and scholarly and professional audiences. Motomura elegantly weaves together the history and modern developments of immigration law and American conceptions of immigrants, making complex topics much more understandable. His provocative proposal-that the United States should treat lawful immigrants as future citizens, conferring upon them equal rights and benefits as they establish permanent residence-is certain to spark a healthy debate about the future of American immigration and citizenship. This is a timely book, and one that encourages us to think more deeply about the consequences of American citizenship policies." —Lucy Salyer, author of Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law

"A unique, original and insightful analysis of policies regarding immigrant rights. Based on a careful reading of an impressively wide range of legal decisions, few of which are part of the corpus of the most significant social scientific literature on immigration law, he develops a tripartite conceptualization that illustrates alternative theories of immigrant rights. Americans in Waiting merits the attention of all serious students of immigrant incorporation." —Rodolfo O. de la Garza, author of Making Americans, Remaking America: Immigration and Immigrant Policy

From the Publisher