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A Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the Fashioning of America. By Aristide R. Zolberg. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006. x, 658 pp. $39.95, ISBN 0-674-02218-1.)
Aristide R. Zolberg put the theme of this book most succinctly: It "is concerned exclusively with American immigration policy" (p. 11). Toward that end he observes that, as immigration increased, "'regulation' evolved imperceptibly from its earlier meaning of deterring undesirables from entering . . . toward the notion of imposing limits on the overall flow, and thus turned into 'restriction'" (p. 199). The 1920s saw a reversal of American policy-"whereas hitherto entry was open unless prohibited, it was now closed unless authorized" (p. 436).
The introduction offers a fascinating analysis, while the first chapters provide perspectives on policies in the early period at the colonial and then state levels. Federal legislation on the slave trade in 1808,...