Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America

by Mae M. Ngai

This book traces the origins of the illegal alien in American law and society, explaining why and how illegal migration became the central problem in U.S. immigration policy--a process that profoundly shaped ideas and practices about citizenship, race, and state authority in the 20th century.

Mae Ngai offers a close reading of the legal regime of restriction that commenced in the 1920s--its statutory architecture, judicial genealogies, administrative enforcement, differential treatment of European and non-European migrants, and long-term effects. In well-drawn historical portraits, Ngai peoples her study with the Filipinos, Mexicans, Japanese, and Chinese who comprised, variously, illegal aliens, alien citizens, colonial subjects, and imported contract workers.

She shows that immigration restriction, particularly national-origin and numerical quotas, re-mapped the nation both by creating new categories of racial difference and by emphasizing as never before the nation's contiguous land borders and their patrol. This yielded the illegal alien, a new legal and political subject whose inclusion in the nation was a social reality but a legal impossibility--a subject without rights and excluded from citizenship. Questions of fundamental legal status created new challenges for liberal democratic society and have directly informed the politics of multiculturalism and national belonging in our time.

Ngai's analysis is based on extensive archival research, including previously unstudied records of the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Naturalization Service. Contributing to American history, legal history, and ethnic studies, Impossible Subjects is a major reconsideration of U.S. immigration in the 20th century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Race, Grad School, School

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Mae Ngai is a professor of Asian American Studies and History at Columbia University.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very slow read but definitely worth it. Anyone who thinks illegal immigrants are taking over the country needs to pull his head out of his ass and read this.

[sdw · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in immigration issues, you need to read this book. Mae Ngai examines the legal and ideological ways in which the subject of the illegal alien was formed. She has been faulted (correctly) for beginning her book in 1924 - that is not paying enough attention to the importance of the Asian exclusion laws (covered in a book like Erika Lee's At America's Gates). Nevertheless this book is unique and thorough and interesting.

"Immigration restriction produced the illegal alien as a new legal and political subject, whose inclusion within the nation was simultaneously a social reality and a legal impossibility - a subject barred from citizenship and without rights. Moreover, the need of state authorities to identify and distinguish between citizens, lawfully resident immigrants, and illegal aliens posed enforcement, political, and constitutional problems for the modern state. The illegal alien is thus an 'impossible subject,' a person who cannot be and a problem that cannot be solved" (5)

"As a sociolegal history, Impossible Subjects proceeds from the contention that law not only reflects society but constitutes it as well, that law normalizes and naturalizes social relations and helps to 'structure the most routine practices of life' (12).

The book examines the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, the history of Deportations and the Border Control, Filipino migration, the Bracero program, the internment of Japanese Americans and the anti-communist cold war "Chinese Immigration Crisis."

[David Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before you begin this, understand it's origin as a Doctoral dissertation. It is an academic work and I read it as part of an upper-level undergraduate history course. Because of its original intent this book is thorough in both documentation and analysis by Dr. Mae Ngai. In other words, read this with an open mind and a dictionary nearby...you'll be a better person (definitely a better U.S. citizen) for it.

If you are serious about understanding the history of immigration in the United States then this book is required reading. Otherwise, the chapters themselves are self-contained so the entire book is not necessary for a complete understanding of Ngai's work.

[Sandy 🥀 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to finish reading this but now that I finally have, I feel incredibly rewarded by this book.

I currently work for a nonprofit that helps refugees and immigrants who immigrate in the United States, and I wanted to do more personal research on immigration laws and how they’ve changed over time. This book was a very comprehensive introduction into international law, immigration law, global affairs, and so much more.

For anyone who wants a summary, I’ll write a short one of each part for a bit of context:

In the first part, you learn a lot about the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 and how it got the ball rolling on immigration restrictions. With the passing of this law, we start to see the creation of the “illegal alien”, also referred to as the impossible subject by the author of this book. The author explores the quota system and other measures created to “secure the border”.

In the second and third part of the book, we explore the cultural groups that were affected by these laws- the Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Filipinos, and so forth. She also explores the larger context of what’s happening- how does the exploitation of these groups affect our very nation? How does it paint the “American?” What type of immigrant is deemed more “lawful” in our society?

The last part of the book then focuses on the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act, which improved many of the laws that sprung from the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 but also created its own new problems. Mae M. Ngai explores how the Civil Rights movement shifted the rhetoric on human rights and thus also impacted immigration law. She also discusses the impact of World War II and the Cold War on immigration.. both positive and negative policies were created as a result of these larger affairs. She ends this part by talking about modern day’s (which at the time of this book’s publication was the early 2000s) discourse on immigration and her own personal opinions on how we can improve upon the current laws.

Now that I’ve finished my summary, I’ll share my succinct thoughts on this book. Read it. It may be very dense, but it has been incredibly helpful in helping me understand the relevance on my job. It has also helped me contextualize my own experiences as a Hispanic woman.. and those of my own family and other immigrants in this country. Sadly, this book proved one huge thing to me… immigration law is built on racism. It’s often painted as a matter of security, but the larger picture paints a history of prejudice, racism, fear, sexism, and hatred. Fortunately, Mae M. Ngai posits a way we can still enforce immigration law (a solution outside of open borders) while empowering those who immigrate into the U.S. and this change the future narrative:

“We might consider, instead, strategies aimed at altering the push-and-pull dynamics of migration from the developing world to the United States. Trade and investment policies that strengthen the economies of sending nations would lessen pressures on emigration. Raising the numerical ceiling on legal migration, reestablishing a statute or limitations on deportation, enforcing wage and hour standards, and facilitating collective bargaining for workers in agriculture and low-wage industries would counter the reproduction of undocumented workers as an exploited underclass.” (Ngai,269)

I will keep exploring other solutions besides this one.. including open borders… but for now, I think this is one that I mostly believe in. This quote is food for thought and is one of the best examples of the kinds of points you’ll encounter when reading this book.

[William Adam Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impossible Subjects is a very comprehensive look at the history of illegal immigration in the United States. It mostly focuses on the government's response to immigration. It shows how the government's policies towards immigrants has changed during the course of the 1900's. If you are looking for current information about the immigration issue, you will not find it in this book (other than in the epilogue). However, if you are looking for the background of how we got to where we are today concerning government policy towards both legal and illegal immigration, there may be no finer place to start reading than this book.

Starting with the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, this book looks at the origins of government policy towards immigrants during the era of mass immigration from Europe. Other than the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in the 1880's, this is the first time the government passed laws to restrict people groups from migrating into the United States. The book then goes onto look at the restriction policies towards specific groups in the following chapters. There is a chapter on the Filipino immigration issue in the 20's and 30's, the Mexican bracero worker program, the Japanese internment issue in the 40's, and the Chinese limitation policies during the Cold War Era. The book concludes with the government policies in the 60's that lead to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.

I learned a great deal from reading this book. It is very comprehensive. It is a textbook I read for school and reads like a textbook. Sometimes, Ngai does not define how she is using words. That is okay because I can do a bit of background reading myself, but it makes me wonder if I am getting the full meaning of how she is using her words. Some subjects that she was reflecting on were more interesting than others to me. The book shows that government policy towards immigration was often based on racist attitudes towards people groups that the government deemed less worthy of the opportunity to move into the country. That is an important truth to understand and this book spells out clearly how that happened step by step in our history.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was pretty insightful but Mae ngai was lowkey contradicting herself😭

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in no way an expert on this area of American history, so to me this book was pretty informative just in terms of filling in a fairly sketchy understanding of the history of immigration. The section on the construction of the illegal alien was particularly interesting. I do think the trajectory of Asian-Americans from "menace" to "model minority" could've been more fully articulated, and I would have also liked to read more about the relationships between different immigrant groups, instead of just their relationships with the white majority.

Still only three stars because straight up history books bore me even if the information is good, useful, etc.

[Stevie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very informative but also a very slow read. It was a lot of the author making a vague claim then saying, "Let's look at the history." and launching into a too-long explanation.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

essential for twentieth-century American history

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough study of the history of immigration in America and the different ways it has been perceived. Her scholarship is excellent, and her writing is not as turgid as many other academics. At times, her personal politics blinds her to holes in her argument, particularly towards the end, but this is forgivable. On this topic, it is hard to find academics who do not allow their activism to interfere in their scholarship. She mostly manages to avoid this mistake.

[Julian Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend

[Zack]

really well researched and well written!

[Adina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb legal analysis of immigration history in the U.S.

[Lily Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for work 🙂‍↕️One of my first times reading a straight up history book not for school purposes. This was a cool read and really got me thinking about what it really means to be an American citizen, which is by no means an immutable status. I would���ve liked to hear more about how the different migrant groups Ngai covers interacted with each other; she focuses on the interactions between migrant and US born people for obvious reasons, but there’s not much discussion about how the distinct treatments of each of these groups influenced their abilities to organize with each other. Curious about how that may have affected community building or policy or if it yielded any significant court decisions. Maybe I’ll look for that in my next read! Anyway this was cool and I learned a lot. I wish I could write like Ngai!

[Matthew Rohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent look at the period of harshest immigration restriction in the US, between 1924 and 1965, and the role of domestic politics, racial theory, foreign policy, and racial formation as both causes and effects of this policy trend, broken down between several different immigrant groups and periods during these fortysome years. So far this is easily my #1 book to read about immigration policy - both deeply researched and sourced and strong theory work on how we conceptualize immigration, citizenship, and sovereignty, and how those things have changed over time

[Caleb Cochran · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the bias of the author is evident throughout, this is a much needed history of immigration to the United States and how the notion of "illegal alien" developed. There are some bright spots in America's history of handling immigration, but there are obviously some dark seasons as well. Both merit consideration, and the good and bad of the past can lead to discussion on how the U.S. can bring a better documentation process to immigration policy.

[Magally Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impossible Subjects is written using an interdisciplinary approach (drawing from migration studies, transnational migration histories, diasporic studies, “borderlands” methodology, studies of race and ethnicity and a critical approach to nationalism, xxi-xxiv) to broach the subject of the production of the category of (im)migrant “alien” in America. The text traces several key moments in the development of this category, chiefly the (re)negotiation of so-called Immigration Acts and Immigration Reform: The Immigration Acts of 1882, 1917, 1921, 1924, and 1965 and other key reforms such as the critical Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 also known as IRCA or Reagan’s Amnesty. Two legislative acts that she features prominently are the Immigration Act 1924 and 1965 (aka the Hart-Celler act). The former is significant because and the latter formally lifted the national origins quota system (263) established in 1952.

Ngai argues that there is a “racial tension within the basic doctrine of citizenship,” and that liberal citizenship is predicated on a complex and contradictory principle that implies liberal inclusivity and “consensual citizenship” at the same time that it excludes based on race, and specifically ones’ proximity or distance to the Anglo-Saxon race (42-43). This is how in the last two decades, citizenship has come to be associated with ethnic and racial difference based on policies like national quotas, Asiatic (sic) exclusion and the incorporation of European immigrants into the national narrative of whiteness. Her analysis relies heavily on case studies of legal appeals to citizenship by individuals of varying nationalities, races, political affiliations, degrees of assimilation, and relations to the capitalist market.

This text makes important contributions to the study of citizenship with implications for areas of study such as race and ethnicity, policing and deportation, the study of colonialism, political theories liberal nationalism “sovereignty” and labor studies, to name a few.

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched history of immigration to the USA through a historical and legal lens with a particular focus on Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Mexican migrants from the early 20th century to post-WWII, exploring the theme that migration patterns remain shaped by asymmetrical relations of economic and political power between nation states

Highlights include:

The flaws in early 20th century USA definition of national identities that incorrectly assumed they were discrete, immutable and transhistorical, passing down through generations without change, which resulted skewing immigration numbers towards northern European nationalities

How the USA racialised Filipinos, who did not fit Orientalist tropes that were applied to Chinese and Japanese immigrants, rather they ascribed them attributes derived from racial representations of African Americans including cultural backwardness, sexual aggression, promiscuousity and sexual desire for white women, which led to myth making of Filipino men being feminised

The moral failure of Roosevelt and the USA's lack of action and indifference to the refugees and victims of fascism following Kristalnacht, after which nothing was done to open the doors for those still in Europe
Then following the end of WWII the introduction of the idea that American economic preferences should determine the selection of immigrants, which then quickly became normalised as an key assumption of immigration policy, not taking into account this was applied to people rendered homeless and stateless by war

[Adam Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I read this book mainly to gain a clearer perspective of the history of immigration in light of the current attacks against immigrants during this current political administration.)

This is a fascinating, albeit deep and academic, book. The amount of laws that were put in place simply based on racism or arbitrary whims. The amount of rules that were put into place explicitly because of racism was astounding.


The following (rather lengthy) quote aptly summarizes the book:

“In 1927 the Immigration Bureau reported that the bootlegging of aliens was a lucratively attractive field of endeavor for the lawlessly inclined, that has grown to be an industry second in importance only to the bootlegging of liquor.

It emphasized, ‘the bootlegged alien is by all odds the least desirable. Whatever else may be said of him, whether he be diseased or not , whether he holds views inimical to our institutions, he, at best is a law violator from the outset.’

This view, that the undocumented immigrant was the least desirable of all, denotes a new imagining of the nation, which situated the principle of natural sovereignty in the foreground. It made State territoriality, not labor needs, not family unification, not freedom from persecution, not assimilation, the engine of immigration policy.

Territoriality was highly unstable however, precisely because restriction had created illegal immigrants within the national body.”

That quote was perspective-shifting for me. Worth the entire 14+ hour read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mae Ngai's book is a comprehensive, analytic and thoughtful treatment of the ways in which American law has created, redefined and shaped illegal immigration in the United States. I thought she spent too long introducing her assumptions and methodology, which made the first chapters really difficult to digest. These chapters were weighed down with arguments about differing conceptions of the state, and what constitutes sovereignty and autonomy. While useful to the rest of the book, at times I felt the philosophical underpinnings of her argument obscured her historical analysis. The analysis, however, is excellent. I was particularly impressed by the ways she framed Filipino migration and, later, immigration to the larger project of American colonization. Her exploration of the effects of Japanese internment and loyalty tests, along with the Chinese confession program were excellent, as was her analysis of why the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act turned out the way it did, and its implications for modern America and the larger project of 20th century American liberalism. It's a dense read, but well worth the effort.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here in the US, it seems that not a day goes by without many of our worst politicians fear mongering about “illegal aliens.” This excellent book examines the origins and history of illegal immigration in America, tracing it back to the immigration restrictions of the 1920s. It demonstrates how the architecture of American immigration quotas and restrictions mapped onto ideas of race, explores the increasing emphasis on America’s territorial borders (and the idea of unauthorized border crossing) in the 1920s, and traces the experiences of various groups of “illegal aliens” (Filipino, Mexican, Japanese, and Chinese) that raised questions about the nature of American citizenship. The book’s analysis of the Hart-Cellar Act, in particular (and the limitations of the Cold War liberalism that gave rise to it), is brilliant, and goes a long way towards explaining the problems that continue to plague the American immigration system. Overall, this book is essential reading for anyone looking to learn more about this perennially important issue.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Impossible Subjects" looks at the question of illegal immigrants to the U.S. and the government policy that created them. Our immigration policy was much more open before 1924 (except with regard to Asians, which is another whole story about extreme prejudice). We're not just talking about people who slip in over our southern border. The Canadian border has been a sieve at times and many have taken advantage of that. But mostly this is a story of the U.S. government's efforts to keep so-called undesirables out - Asians, Mexicans, homosexuals and others. It is not our nation at its best, and relates directly to today's issues.

[cooldude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for an American racial history class and I thought it was incredible. The way it dives into the histories of different immigrant groups (Mexican, Filipino, Japanese, etc) and white reactions provides a background that is entirely necessary to understand the modern controversy around the immigrant "crisis." Although it's a heavy read, Ngai breaks down each chapter into distinct abstracts that help you retain the information. Really great information and Ngai is a clear and concise author regarding these issues.

[Garret Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive book about the origins of the idea of “illegal aliens” and how we got to a place in America today where the debate over illegal immigration dominates the immigration discussion and debate. The book also shows how immigration laws were passed for reasons that were specific to their time, but consequently aided in the construction of racial ideologies that we see in society today. Really timely and interesting topic!

[Dan Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and searching history of illegal immigration and immigration restrictions in twentieth-century America. "Illegal immigrant," with all its racist connotations, is not a static or eternal category. It came into existence because of the Immigration Act of 1924. Ngai recommends compassion and human rights-based practices to accommodate the migrant population in the U.S.

[Alethia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book did a good job of highlighting the different minorities in the US and their treatment. The concept of foreignness is very prominent, and Ngai really explores this idea through examples like Filipino migration, national quotas, and Japanese internment. All in all, this was a very detailed and informative read, being at times interesting and at other times depressing.

[Mercedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading if you want a good summary on the immigration law dynamic in the U.S. I suggest all of my staff read at least the first few chapters. It is an intelligent book that walks you through the laws of the U.S. and how we came to this awful mess of keep everyone out and offer no help to those who are working hard.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Impossible Subjects looking for an overview of immigration policy and its interplay with racism in the US and feel like it was a good starting place. It offers a high-level overview of the issue as it has impacted various groups and nationalities between 1924 and 1965. It can get dense but I found it very informative and insightful.

[Hom Sack · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and comprehensive history of U.S. immigration policy and practices from The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act) to The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (The Hart-Celler Act). A history that sheds light into and informs why we still have the problems that we have of immigration today. More detailed than I would prefer, but nevertheless a needed reading.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intelligent and lucid analysis of the legal/policy/social construction of the category of illegal alien. Pairs well with Peggy Pascoe's What Comes Naturally and Margot Canaday's Straight State.