U.S. Immigration Policy and White Supremacy: A Historical and Contemporary Analysis
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U.S. Immigration Policy and White Supremacy: A Historical and Contemporary Analysis

Aowen Guan 1*
1 University of Southern California, Los Angeles
*Corresponding author: aowengua@usc.edu
Published on 9 September 2025
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LNEP Vol.112
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-339-0
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-340-6
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Abstract

The United States has long presented itself as a “nation of immigrants”, yet its immigration policies have often operated to preserve a white racial majority. This paper investigates the extent to which U.S. immigration law, historically and today, functions as a structural tool for enforcing white supremacist ideology. This paper puts forth the question of how the U.S. immigration policy historically has constructed and sustained racial hierarchy, and in what ways do contemporary laws and discourse continue to reflect these white supremacist foundations? Drawing on legal analysis, historical records, demographic data, and contemporary political rhetoric, this paper finds that from the 1790 Naturalization Act through the 1924 national origins quota system, immigration law explicitly favored white, European-origin populations. Even after the formal abolition of racial quotas in 1965, immigration enforcement disproportionately targets nonwhite immigrants, and nativist ideologies such as the “Great Replacement” theory have re-emerged in mainstream political discourse. This research exposes the persistence of racial bias embedded in American immigration governance. Understanding these patterns is not only essential for historical accountability, but also for informing urgent policy reform. In a world of demographic shifts and geopolitical competition, the U.S. must move beyond its racialized immigration legacy to harness immigration as both a moral imperative and strategic advantage.

Keywords:

Immigration policy, white supremacy, racial quotas, enforcement disparities, Great Replacement theory

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Guan,A. (2025). U.S. Immigration Policy and White Supremacy: A Historical and Contemporary Analysis. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,112,65-73.

References

[1]. Jayashri Srikantiah, Shirin Sinnar. (2019) White Nationalism as Immigration Policy, Stanford Law Review, 71: 197–204.

[2]. Naturalization Act of 1870, ch. 254, § 7, 16 Stat. 254, 256; see Art. I, § 8, cl. 4.1.2.3: Early U.S. Naturalization Laws, The Constitution Annotated, Congress.gov.

[3]. Ozawa v. United States (1922) 260 U.S. 178, 198.

[4]. United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind. (1923) 261 U.S. 204, 215–216.

[5]. An Act to Execute Certain Treaty Stipulations Relating to Chinese (Chinese Exclusion Act), Pub. L. No. 47-126, 22 Stat. 58 (1882).

[6]. U.S. Department of State. (1995) Milestones: 1921–1936 – Immigration Act, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State.

[7]. United States Immigration Commission. (1911) (Dillingham Commission), Reports of the Immigration Commission, Government Printing Office.

[8]. James C. Mohr. (2022) The 1924 Law Slammed the Door on Immigrants—And the Politicians Who Pushed It Back Open, Smithsonian Magazine, November 16.

[9]. Congressional Record. (1927) (statement of Rep. Albert Johnson), as quoted in TIME, Behind America’s First Comprehensive Federal Immigration Law, Vol. 65, July 25.

[10]. Mae M. Ngai. (2004) Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp.34–35.

[11]. Brian G. Gratton and Emily K. (2017) Merchant. Immigration, Replenishment, and Race: Mexican Immigration in the Era of National Reunification, Social Science History 41, no. 1, pp.159–185.

[12]. Calvin Coolidge. (2023) First Annual Message, Presidential Speeches, Miller Center, December 6.

[13]. Immigration & Ethnic History Society. (2018) Mexican Repatriation, Immigration History.

[14]. U.S. Department of State. (1995) Milestones: 1945–1952 – The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran–Walter Act), Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State.

[15]. Lyndon B. Johnson. (1965) Remarks at the Signing of the Immigration Bill, Liberty Island, New York. Presidential Speeches, Millennium Center, October 3.

[16]. Kevin R. Johnson. (2021) Bringing Racial Justice to Immigration Law, Northwestern University Law Review Online 116, May 13.

[17]. Stephen H. Legomsky. (2019) Trump v. Hawaii: A Proclamation of Judicial Deference, American Journal of International Law 113, no. 1, January, pp.109–116.

[18]. Stephen H. Legomsky. (1984) Immigration Law and the Principle of Plenary Congressional Power, The Supreme Court Review, pp.255–306.

[19]. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2021) Enforcement and Removal Operations Reports, FY 2000–2023. U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and American Immigration Council. “The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security.” Fact Sheet. March.

[20]. Glenn Kessler. (2015) Donald Trump’s False Comments Connecting Mexican Immigrants and Crime. The Washington Post (Fact Checker), July 8.

[21]. David Pietrusza. (2019) The Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, Bill of Rights Institute.

[22]. Julia Ebner and Jacob Davey. (2019) We Analyzed How the "Great Replacement" and FarRight Ideas Spread Online. The Trends Reveal Deep Concerns. Time, May 24.

[23]. David C. Adams. (2019) The Racist Conspiracy Theory Behind the El Paso Shooting. Univision News, August 11.

References

[1]. Jayashri Srikantiah, Shirin Sinnar. (2019) White Nationalism as Immigration Policy, Stanford Law Review, 71: 197–204.

[2]. Naturalization Act of 1870, ch. 254, § 7, 16 Stat. 254, 256; see Art. I, § 8, cl. 4.1.2.3: Early U.S. Naturalization Laws, The Constitution Annotated, Congress.gov.

[3]. Ozawa v. United States (1922) 260 U.S. 178, 198.

[4]. United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind. (1923) 261 U.S. 204, 215–216.

[5]. An Act to Execute Certain Treaty Stipulations Relating to Chinese (Chinese Exclusion Act), Pub. L. No. 47-126, 22 Stat. 58 (1882).

[6]. U.S. Department of State. (1995) Milestones: 1921–1936 – Immigration Act, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State.

[7]. United States Immigration Commission. (1911) (Dillingham Commission), Reports of the Immigration Commission, Government Printing Office.

[8]. James C. Mohr. (2022) The 1924 Law Slammed the Door on Immigrants—And the Politicians Who Pushed It Back Open, Smithsonian Magazine, November 16.

[9]. Congressional Record. (1927) (statement of Rep. Albert Johnson), as quoted in TIME, Behind America’s First Comprehensive Federal Immigration Law, Vol. 65, July 25.

[10]. Mae M. Ngai. (2004) Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp.34–35.

[11]. Brian G. Gratton and Emily K. (2017) Merchant. Immigration, Replenishment, and Race: Mexican Immigration in the Era of National Reunification, Social Science History 41, no. 1, pp.159–185.

[12]. Calvin Coolidge. (2023) First Annual Message, Presidential Speeches, Miller Center, December 6.

[13]. Immigration & Ethnic History Society. (2018) Mexican Repatriation, Immigration History.

[14]. U.S. Department of State. (1995) Milestones: 1945–1952 – The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran–Walter Act), Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State.

[15]. Lyndon B. Johnson. (1965) Remarks at the Signing of the Immigration Bill, Liberty Island, New York. Presidential Speeches, Millennium Center, October 3.

[16]. Kevin R. Johnson. (2021) Bringing Racial Justice to Immigration Law, Northwestern University Law Review Online 116, May 13.

[17]. Stephen H. Legomsky. (2019) Trump v. Hawaii: A Proclamation of Judicial Deference, American Journal of International Law 113, no. 1, January, pp.109–116.

[18]. Stephen H. Legomsky. (1984) Immigration Law and the Principle of Plenary Congressional Power, The Supreme Court Review, pp.255–306.

[19]. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (2021) Enforcement and Removal Operations Reports, FY 2000–2023. U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and American Immigration Council. “The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security.” Fact Sheet. March.

[20]. Glenn Kessler. (2015) Donald Trump’s False Comments Connecting Mexican Immigrants and Crime. The Washington Post (Fact Checker), July 8.

[21]. David Pietrusza. (2019) The Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, Bill of Rights Institute.

[22]. Julia Ebner and Jacob Davey. (2019) We Analyzed How the "Great Replacement" and FarRight Ideas Spread Online. The Trends Reveal Deep Concerns. Time, May 24.

[23]. David C. Adams. (2019) The Racist Conspiracy Theory Behind the El Paso Shooting. Univision News, August 11.

Cite this article

Guan,A. (2025). U.S. Immigration Policy and White Supremacy: A Historical and Contemporary Analysis. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,112,65-73.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICILLP 2025 Symposium: Digital Governance: Inter-Firm Coopetition and Legal Frameworks for Sustainability

ISBN: 978-1-80590-339-0(Print) / 978-1-80590-340-6(Online)
Editor: Renuka Thakore, Tonejit Gad-Harry
Conference website: https://2025.icillp.org/Bristol.html
Conference date: 18 September 2025
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.112
ISSN: 2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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