The Law That Changed the Face of America - by Margaret Sands Orchowski (Paperback)

About the Book

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1965-a landmark decision that made the United State the diverse nation it is today. This is the never before told story of how immigration laws have moved in constant flux and revision throughout our nation's history.

Book Synopsis

The year 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1965-a landmark decision that made the United States the diverse nation it is today. In The Law that Changed the Face of America, congressional journalist and immigration expert Margaret Sands Orchowski delivers a never before told story of how immigration laws have moved in constant flux and revision throughout our nation's history. Exploring the changing immigration environment of the twenty-first century, Orchowski discusses globalization, technology, terrorism, economic recession, and the expectations of the millennials. She also addresses the ever present U.S. debate about the roles of the various branches of government in immigration; and the often competitive interests between those who want to immigrate to the United States and the changing interests, values, ability, and right of our sovereign nation states to choose and welcome those immigrants who will best advance the country.

Review Quotes

"As we move into a lively election year, I wish that every candidate would be required to read Margaret "Peggy" Sands Orchowski's book, The Law That Changed the Face of America: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965." --Noozhawk

"Immigrants have shaped America, but few people understand how we got to where we are today. In this insightful book, Orchowski traces the history of U.S. immigration policy, tackling common myths and explaining the historical lessons for contemporary policy. If we don't understand the past, she argues convincingly, we won't be able to move into the future." --Darrell M. West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, Douglas Dillon Chair, The Brookings Institution

"In this book, Peggy Orchowski makes an important contribution by highlighting the history and consequences of the momentous 1965 immigration law, and what that history teaches us about the choices we have to make today." --Mark Krikorian, executive director, Center for Immigration Studies

"With brisk prose and nuanced perspective, Orchowski offers a savvy and informed glance back at how Senator Philip Hart and Congressman Emanuel Celler achieved bi-partisan cooperation in reforming immigration law. This historic legislative coup left a trail of intended and unintended consequences that echo still in contemporary partisan standoffs on immigration policy." --Alan M. Kraut, University Professor of History, American University

"In this important new book Orchowski examines paradoxes and myths of U.S. immigration policy by focusing on a 1965 immigration law whose unintended consequences ought to be central to every current debate on immigration reform." --Magdalena Krajewska, assistant professor of political science, Wingate University

About the Author

Margaret "Peggy" Sands Orchowski PhD has covered immigration policy and law-making on the Hill as a fully credentialed Congressional journalist since 2005, as the Bill Analysis Editor for the Congressional Quarterly and as the Congressional Correspondent for the Hispanic Outlook magazine. She is author of Immigration and the American Dream: Battling the Political Hype and Hysteria and. The Law That Changed the Face of America: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Rowman&Littlefield 2007 and 2015).
Peggy speaks and works easily in four languages having lived for over 10 years in South America and Europe. At the University of California (Berkeley and Santa Barbara) she was highly involved with foreign student and language immersion programs.