The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 made the Chinese the first immigrant group officially excluded from the United States. In Paper Families , Estelle T. Lau demonstrates how exclusion affected Chinese American communities and initiated the development of restrictive U.S. immigration policies and practices. Through the enforcement of the Exclusion Act and subsequent legislation, the U.S. immigration service developed new forms of record keeping and identification practices. Meanwhile, Chinese Americans took advantage of the system's loophole: children of U.S. citizens were granted automatic eligibility for immigration. The result was an elaborate system of "paper families," in which U.S. citizens of Chinese descent claimed fictive, or "paper," children who could then use their kinship status as a basis for entry into the United States. This subterfuge necessitated the creation of "crib sheets" outlining genealogies and providing village maps and other information that could be used during immigration processing.
ISBN 9780822337478
Condition USED
Publisher DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Artist / Author Estelle T. Lau; Julia Adams (Contribution By); George St
Shipping Weight 0.3000kg
Type books
Format Paperback

Be The First To Review This Product!

Help other The Maleny Bookshop users shop smarter by writing reviews for products you have purchased.

Write a product review

More From This Category