How Scientific Racialization Shapes Mexican Immigration Policies, 1848-Present with Natalia Molina
In this video lecture, Natalia Molina, professor of history and urban studies at UC San Diego, traces the ways US public health and immigration policies intersected and influenced the country’s response to Mexican immigration.
Professor Molina’s book, How Race Is Made in America: Immigration, Citizenship, and the Historical Power of Racial Scripts, examines Mexican immigration–from 1924 when immigration acts drastically reduced immigration to the U.S. to 1965–to understand how broad themes of race and citizenship are constructed. These years shaped the emergence of what she describes as an immigration regime that defined the racial categories that continue to influence perceptions in the U.S. about Mexican Americans, race, and ethnicity. Through the use of a relational lens, How Race Is Made in America demonstrates that racial scripts are easily adopted and adapted to apply to different racial groups.
KJ