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dc.contributor.advisorCantrell, Gregg
dc.contributor.authorBranscombe, Jensen Eliseen_US
dc.coverage.spatialUnited States.en_US
dc.coverage.spatialUnited Statesen_US
dc.coverage.spatialUnited States.en_US
dc.coverage.spatialUnited Statesen_US
dc.coverage.spatialMexicoen_US
dc.coverage.spatialMexican-American Border Regionen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-22T18:48:50Z
dc.date.available2014-07-22T18:48:50Z
dc.date.created2013en_US
dc.date.issued2013en_US
dc.identifieretd-08082013-102850en_US
dc.identifierumi-10443en_US
dc.identifiercat-002008966en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/4447
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation examines the evolution and enforcement of U.S. immigration policy in the twenty years following the passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 (INA), focusing on the U.S.-Mexico border. I argue that immigration policy did not adequately address the reality of the situation along the border. A combination of belligerent rhetoric in the Immigration Service and a profound lack of knowledge on the subject of undocumented immigration made for uninformed opinions and ineffective policies based on unsubstantiated fears of a national crisis, further hindered by poor communication between Washington, D.C. and the border region. Public officials and immigration officers alike faced myriad obstacles to effective border control ranging from budgetary restrictions and internal corruption to fraud and humanitarian crises along the border. Blending political and social history, my research methodology involved analyzing federal records as well as the experiences of people living and working along the border. The disconnect between Washington and the border region explains how the fanfare that surrounded the passage of the INA devolved into frustrations with an unworkable federal policy and inconsistent local implementation. I explore three areas related to the federal-local disconnect that inhibited successful immigration policy and enforcement in the years after 1965: shortcomings in the law, low morale and turbulence in the Immigration Service, and shifting public opinion.
dc.format.mediumFormat: Onlineen_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher[Fort Worth, Tex.] : Texas Christian University,en_US
dc.relation.ispartofTexas Christian University dissertationen_US
dc.relation.ispartofUMI thesis.en_US
dc.relation.ispartofTexas Christian University dissertation.en_US
dc.relation.requiresMode of access: World Wide Web.en_US
dc.relation.requiresSystem requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.en_US
dc.rightsEmbargoed until Aug. 8, 2015: Texas Christian University.
dc.subject.lcshUnited States. Immigration and Naturalization Service.en_US
dc.subject.lcshEmigration and immigration law United States.en_US
dc.subject.lcshImmigration enforcement United States History 20th century.en_US
dc.subject.lcshImmigrants Government policy United States.en_US
dc.subject.lcshUnited States Emigration and immigration Government policy History.en_US
dc.subject.lcshMexico Emigration and immigration History 20th century.en_US
dc.subject.lcshMexican-American Border Region Emigration and immigration History 20th century.en_US
dc.titleClamping the lid on the melting pot: immigration policy and the U.S.-Mexico border, 1965-1986en_US
dc.typeTexten_US
etd.degree.departmentDepartment of History
etd.degree.levelDoctoral
local.collegeAddRan College of Liberal Arts
local.departmentHistory
local.academicunitDepartment of History
dc.type.genreDissertation
local.subjectareaHistory
etd.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
etd.degree.grantorTexas Christian University


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