CALCULATED KINDNESS

by Gil Loescher, John A. Scanlan

Argues that government immigration policies have favored refugees from left-wing rather than right-wing regimes

Genres: History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 1986

Reviews

[sdw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title sums up the point of the book – U.S. refugee policy’s “kindness” towards refugees was always calculated around U.S. political interests (surprise, surprise). The book starts with the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 and ends with Regan’s “closing of the refugee gates” as Nicaraguans and Guatemalans (among others) are denied asylum and refugee status because they are escaping authoritarian countries supported by the US. The tightening of refugee admissions is in part a backlash to the refugee policies that admitted Cambodians and Vietnamese throughout the 1970s. It was a very informative book full of more facts, figures, laws, and world history than I could possibly digest. It made me really excited to learn more about U.S. refugee history and allowed me to see how central refugee policy is to U.S. foreign policy and the international role of the U.S. in the post-World War II. It did not discuss refugees in relation to domestic policy.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting from a history perspective, but not the most fascinating subject and the author is obviously biased in a way I don't agree with.