Illegality, Immigration, and Labor: Lecture Review

These flashcards cover the historical evolution of U.S. immigration law, the creation of “illegality,” economic drivers, guest-worker programs, border militarization, Central American and Mexican case studies, and the broader social constructs that turn migrants into a legally exploitable workforce.

When did the modern concept of “illegality” in U.S. immigration law largely emerge?

After passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which imposed the first numerical limits on Western Hemisphere migration.

Before 1890, who enforced immigration rules in the United States?

Individual states, because there was no national immigration system until Ellis Island opened in 1892.

What was the primary purpose of the U.S. Border Patrol when it was created in 1924?

To stop alcohol smuggling during Prohibition and prevent prohibited Chinese migrants from entering via Mexico, not to block Mexican laborers.

What dual role did Operation Wetback (1954) play in U.S. immigration control?

It deported over a million Mexicans while simultaneously channeling others into the legal Bracero guest-worker program.

How did the Bracero Program (1942-1964) shape Mexican migration patterns?

It created large-scale, circular labor migration for U.S. agriculture, cementing expectations that Mexicans were temporary, disposable workers.

Why did the 1965 Immigration Act suddenly create “illegal” Mexican immigration?

It ended the Bracero Program and imposed low numerical caps on Mexican visas, leaving labor demand unchanged but legal entry paths closed.

What is the main economic function of undocumented labor, according to the lecture?

To supply a subordinate, exploitable workforce that keeps wages low in undesirable sectors while appearing ‘illegal’ rather than racialized.

Define a segmented (dual) labor market.

A labor system in which privileged workers access upward mobility and protections while marginalized groups are confined to low-wage, hazardous jobs.

How does “illegality” hide racial discrimination in a post-civil-rights era?

By criminalizing people of color for status violations instead of explicitly naming race, enabling discrimination on grounds of criminality.

What is meant by “global apartheid”?

A system in which wealthier nations use borders, visas, and enforcement to confine the poor of the Global South to their birth countries.

Which two ways account for most undocumented status in the U.S.?

(1) Entry without inspection and (2) visa overstay or other visa violation.

Roughly what portion of visa overstayers come from Mexico?

A small minority; most Mexican undocumented entrants cross without inspection, whereas most overstayers are from other regions.

What U.S. border-enforcement operations in the 1990s redirected crossings to deadly deserts?

Operation Hold the Line (El Paso, 1993) and Operation Gatekeeper (San Diego, 1994).

Main cause of migrant deaths after mid-1990s border militarization?

Heat exposure, dehydration, hypothermia, and drowning in remote terrain forced by enforcement walls and agents.

How many undocumented immigrants were estimated in the U.S. peak year of 2007?

Almost 12 million.

What status did the 1924 Immigration Act create that did not previously exist?

Permanent deportability for entering without inspection—i.e., the legal category of an ‘illegal entrant.’

Why were early 20th-century Mexicans exempt from literacy tests and head taxes?

U.S. agribusiness lobbied for open access to Mexican labor, treating them as temporary sojourners rather than immigrants.

What loophole allowed many undocumented Europeans to legalize in the 1920s-50s?

The ‘registry’ provisions and brief trips through Canada enabled status adjustment if they were racially eligible for citizenship.

State one unintended consequence of the 1986 IRCA employer-sanctions law.

It spawned a lucrative black market in fraudulent documents while failing to penalize most employers.

What portion of the undocumented population is Mexican, according to 2010 data?

Almost 60% (over 6 million people).

Explain "drying out the wetbacks" during the Bracero era.

INS officials briefly returned undocumented Mexicans across the line, then processed them as legal Bracero guest workers.

Why did Central American undocumented migration rise after 2005 while Mexican numbers stabilized?

Escalating violence, weak economies, and poverty in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, combined with falling Mexican birthrates and U.S. recession.

What nickname do migrants give the freight train route through Mexico?

La Bestia (‘The Beast’ or ‘Train of Death’).

Who are the Zetas in the migration context?

A cartel that kidnaps, extorts, and murders migrants transiting Mexico, often using local youth gangs (‘Zetitas’).

Describe "Plan Sur" (2001).

Mexico’s U.S.-pressured initiative to police its southern border and deter Central American migration.

What is the function of a Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexicans?

A limited visitor permit allowing short stays within 25 miles of the border; leaving the zone or working violates its terms.

List one reason many U.S. employers avoid the H-2 visa process.

The program’s bureaucracy, costs, and caps make undocumented hiring easier and cheaper.

What is meant by "legally falsified papers" in immigrant communities?

Documents produced through fraudulent legal filings (e.g., fake asylum claims) that nonetheless provide temporary lawful presence.

How did No More Deaths and similar groups respond to border fatalities?

By providing humanitarian aid (water drops, rescue patrols) and documenting abuses along the U.S.–Mexico border.

What does critical legal studies suggest about law and power?

Law is not neutral; it reflects and reinforces existing power hierarchies.

Explain "free citizenship" (Aziz Rana).

Informal, race-based privileges extended to whites regardless of formal status, contrasted with limited formal citizenship of people of color.

How did European colonial ideology link mobility and religion?

Christians saw themselves as entitled to move and colonize, while non-Christians were considered movable or controllable labor.

What early ‘test case’ shaped British colonial exclusion tactics?

The conquest and dispossession of Catholic Ireland.

What is the main historical role of status categories like race, religion, or nationality?

To justify coerced labor, unequal rights, and restricted mobility for designated inferior groups.

Why do many U.S. citizens wrongly assume their ancestors migrated "the right way"?

Because before 1924 (and for Mexicans before 1965) few legal restrictions or visa systems existed, so most simply arrived without formalities.

How does deportability enforce workplace discipline?

Undocumented workers can be fired or reported, deterring unionizing or wage demands and keeping labor cheap.

What 1917 exemption kept Mexican labor flowing despite new rules?

Congress waived the literacy test and head tax for Mexicans entering to work in agriculture.

Define “registry” in U.S. immigration law.

A process allowing those in the U.S. since a set date to legalize status if otherwise eligible—initially used mainly by Europeans.

What did the 1907 Immigration Act first criminalize?

Entering the U.S. without inspection became a legal violation.

How did railroads foster Mexican migration, according to Victor Clark (1908)?

They recruited displaced peasants for railroad jobs, habituated them to wage work, and transported them directly to the U.S.

Give one key finding of the Mexican Migration Project surveys.

83% of first-time migrants from surveyed Mexican communities entered the U.S. illegally; 73% did so on their most recent trip.

Why did employer sanctions temporarily lift after Hurricane Katrina?

Federal contractors needed rapid access to migrant labor for rebuilding, illustrating selective enforcement.

What is “Operation Gatekeeper’s” legacy, per ACLU/CNDH?

Over 5,000 migrant deaths attributed to policy that pushed crossings into lethal terrain.

How did IRCA amnesty inadvertently encourage future undocumented flows?

It diffused knowledge of forged documents and family networks, spurring new entrants seeking eventual legalization.

What does Nicholas De Genova argue about the purpose of illegality?

Immigration laws are written to create a legally vulnerable workforce, not merely to punish unauthorized entry.

Explain “mass incarceration as the new Jim Crow” in migration context.

Criminalizing people of color (including undocumented immigrants) allows continued discrimination without explicit racial language.

What are the two chief motivations for Mayan migration from Guatemala?

Long-standing forced labor traditions and violent displacement from civil war and land dispossession.

How did coyotes evolve from earlier labor recruiters?

Labor contratistas who once moved workers to Guatemalan plantations extended networks to smuggle migrants to the U.S.

Why did many Brazilians in Massachusetts use the Mexico land route?

Poorer Brazilians without tourist visas bought package deals through Mexico, while wealthier ones flew directly.

State one way the H-2 program can put workers in debt bondage.

Recruiters charge illegal fees (visa, transport, housing) leaving workers owing $500–$10,000 on arrival.

What was the outcome of FLOC’s effort to regulate H-2 recruitment in Mexico?

Union organizer Santiago Cruz was tortured and murdered, allegedly by labor-contractor racketeers who lost profits.

How did Mexican and Central American migrants perceive U.S. immigration law, per Foxen?

As opaque and oppressive; many viewed coyotes as similar to historic labor recruiters and saw documentation rules as arbitrary.

What historical event turned many Mexicans into U.S. residents without moving?

The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which shifted the border after the U.S.–Mexican War.

Why is birth-right citizenship described as a “rigid distinction based on ancestry”?

It fixes legal rights to the accident of birthplace, perpetuating inherited privilege and inequality.

What did the 1986 IRCA require from employers for the first time?

Verification of workers’ documents and penalties for knowingly hiring unauthorized workers (employer sanctions).

How do outlet malls at San Ysidro symbolize immigration contradictions?

They invite Mexican consumers across the line while a fortified wall blocks those seeking work or residence.

What is the primary lesson of the Hernandez Cruz family case study?

Legal status often hinges on forged paperwork and shifting U.S. policies, not personal choice to ‘break the law.’

Summarize the lecture’s central argument in one sentence.

Illegality is a socially constructed tool that sustains racialized labor exploitation by criminalizing mobility rather than explicitly using race.