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IMMIGRATION POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES: POLARIZATION AND PARANOIA By ROBERT WINSTON SCHARR A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 © 2017 Robert Winston Scharr To my most loyal family and friends ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My study of Congress began close to a decade ago, when my advisor, Dr. Lawrence Dodd, instructed me on the inner workings of the institution. Dr. Dodd, together with Dr. Scot Schraufnagel, had begun a series of works linking legislative productivity to partisan polarization. Amidst the legislative gridlock of the time, I noticed an increasingly contentious discourse on immigration policy both within and outside the institution of Congress. Having lived abroad before, and having dealt with the realities of being a foreigner, and having befriended countless immigrants visiting my own country, I have always placed a high value on advocating a fair treatment of immigrants. Thus, I formed an interest in Congress passing reform that accommodates the millions of immigrants who contribute to American society, with, of course, the safeguards necessary to ensure the long-term viability of the U.S. immigration system. With this in mind, I began to explore why Congress was able to make progress with reform in previous eras, but unable to do so in the modern era. I found my first major clue in the historical DW-NOMINATE trends put forth by Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal, which seek to measure ideology of individual members as well as the ideological distance between the two major parties. I soon noticed that each discriminatory law passed in history, from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and its reauthorizations, to the 1917 and 1924 acts which systematically discriminated against minority groups, to the 1996 act which sought to exclude immigrants from accessing social service, passed during periods of partisan hyperpolarization. At the same time, the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1943, the substantial watering down of the 1924 act in 1952, and the broad liberalization of 1965 all passed in a relatively depolarized era. After years of research, I gained an 4 appreciation for the evolving leadership structure within Congress and the crucial importance of the political center in reaching consensus on immigration matters. I would like to thank Dr. Dodd, for having the patience and the fortitude to continue backing my efforts through the long history of this research project. Dr. Dodd, and my co-chair, Dr. Sharon Austin, as well as Dr. Kenneth Wald, have done much to guide me through difficult times, and have been influential in helping identify strengths and weaknesses not only within earlier drafts of this dissertation, but in my development as a scholar. Recognizing those, I now move forward in pursuit of important research on Congress and on the growing field of race, ethnicity and politics, and intend to make meaningful contributions to the discipline. Professors Beth Rosenson and Badradine Arfi also expressed immense patience; Dr. Rosenson was responsible for introducing me to fundamental works in American Politics, and studying under Dr. Arfi gave me an enhanced awareness of the roles of discourse and of foreign policy considerations. Dr. Ann Wehmeyer is from the Languages, Literatures and Cultures department at UF, which is home to my undergraduate major of Japanese. Due to the experience of culture shock, my first months of studying in Japan represent to this day the most trying ordeals of my lifetime; these challenges nearly prompted me to give up. During that period, Dr. Wehmeyer reached out to consult me on the things that truly mattered, and I found the resilience to continue studying in Japan, and from that I reaped the best of rewards in new friendships, new experiences, and new knowledge. Dr. Wehmeyer has studied he interaction of language and social outcomes, was of importance to me in 5 completing this project (particularly with respect to the rule of nuance in debates), as it will be for future projects. Formerly on my committee was Dr. Joseph Murphy, who also served as my undergraduate advisor. Dr. Murphy first instructed me in courses on Japanese culture and Japanese film, each course in many respects exemplified the intellectual rigor typically reserved for graduate seminars. Having taken those courses as a freshman, my prior preparation was sub-optimal, but his high expectations helped push me toward the pursuit of focused and bold inquiry, a standard I hope to have finally achieved. Dr, Murphy retired from the academy prior to the completion of this project, but the impact from his courses was immeasurable, and I intend to seek his counsel in future endeavors. Numerous others in the discipline, have also given me important, and sometimes crucial, direction. This includes UF professors Peggy Conway and Wayne Francis, who though retired some time ago, have both imparted words of wisdom, as well as professors Daniel A. Smith, Dan O’Neill, Michael Martinez, David Hedge and Stephen Craig, who helped expand my intellectual curiosity during the formative years of my career. I also thank professors Mark A. Smith, Erik Wibbels, Susan Whiting, Anthony Gill, Gary Segura and Don Hellmann, all of whom encouraged me to pursue political science while I was at the University of Washington, and I also thank retired UW professors Masashi Kato, Michio Tsutsui, and Mary Coney for their unyielding support. The APSA Asian-Pacific American Caucus on two occasions reviewed earlier drafts of this dissertation, and were helpful in steering this project in a tenable direction. Professors Andrew Aoki and Karthick Ramikrishnan provided valuable feedback, while 6 Pet-Te Lien, Janelle Wong, and James Lai have throughout stuck beside me as I found my way. I also extend sincere thanks to Anna Pardo of the University of Florida Graduate Editorial Office for helping to make this document more accessible. But above all, the patience and unending encouragement of my committee cannot be understated; it ultimately paid enormous dividends in my acquisition of focus and discipline as a political scientist, and led to the completion of this project. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... 10 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 14 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... 16 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................ 19 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 19 Dimensions of Cultural Politics ............................................................................... 22 Party Systems and Polarization .............................................................................. 27 Preview of Chapters 2-9 ......................................................................................... 37 2 METHODS .............................................................................................................. 44 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 44 Overview of Legislative Trends ............................................................................... 45 Incorporating Qualitative Speech Data ................................................................... 60 Conclusion to Chapter Two ..................................................................................... 62 3 THE POST-RECONSTRUCTION ERA ................................................................... 67 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 67 History and Background.......................................................................................... 68 Analysis of Senate Roll Call Vote on Chinese Exclusion Act .................................. 83 Conclusion to Chapter Three .................................................................................. 90 4 THE PROGRESSIVE ERA AND GREAT DEPRESSION ..................................... 102 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 102 History and Background........................................................................................ 103 Senate Activity on Immigration Act of 1924 .......................................................... 116 Analysis of Senate Floor Vote of 1924 Act ............................................................ 133 Conclusion to Chapter Four .................................................................................. 136 5 WORLD WAR II AND ITS AFTERMATH .............................................................. 148 8 Introduction and National Political Backdrop ......................................................... 148 Magnuson Act (1943): Recognition of a Wartime Ally ..........................................