Thesis title and description:
“The Right to Be Included: Challenging Immigrant Exclusion Through Redress for U.S. Imperial Injustices”
In the current mainstream discourse around immigration policy, migration to the U.S. has been viewed as a one-way street. Foreign nationals have interests that motivate their migration, and the U.S. must dictate their policies in response. But many countries of origin of immigrants, such as Mexico and the Philippines, experienced political, economic, and cultural ties with the United States. Historical imperial policies have worsened domestic conditions and continue to motivate immigration to America. An important discourse about redress for past imperial injustices is omitted from contemporary immigration debates. My project is to explore literature in political theory and historical evidence to argue that U.S imperialism complicates theories that uphold the sovereign right of nations to dictate immigration policy. Through this, I maintain that contemporary immigration laws must account for these injustices.