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Are you trying to write a policy paper, as in the direction you think the U.S. should take in regard to immigration going forward? If I were researching the history of immigration in the U.S., I would focus on trying to make sense of the trends in U.S. immigration policy over the past few hundred years. I would find the times of major immigration waves and determine a) the U.S. economic situation at the time and b) the economic situations of the countries that immigrants were leaving from. Then, I would try to compare and contrast our current situation with any situations in the past and ask whether or not we should implement policies once used in the past.It's commonly thought that America is just a nation of open borders and that immigrants have come in freely. But is that really the case? Surely, there have been restrictions put in place from time to time. What was the immigration policy during the Great Depression when Americans were losing their jobs? Did the government make moves to protect U.S. workers over immigrant workers?
You might want to consider the impact of Enlightenment thought and how the notion of Universal human rights and how pro-immigrant groups use these ideas to further their own agenda. Just some thoughts.
Hi Jessica, you need to start your research with Cesar Chavez. He formed the first farm workers union and was a civil rights activist for Latinos. Go to his wikipedia page here and start looking for terms associated with his movement and then go to your library for real sources associated with him and his associates.
