In part 2 of this episode of The Human Government, our host finishes taking us down a rabbit hole of research to better understand the history of immigration policy in the U.S.. We use one particularly helpful resource that chronicles policies from 1790-2014, matching them with a trend line graph that is helpful for understanding the impacts of various policies. Packed densely with information, dates, and details, this rabbit hole is broken into two parts. Part 1 details policies from 1790-1953 and Part 2 picks up in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. If you have not listened to part 1, it is recommended but not necessary to listen in on this episode.

This episode was recorded in the early morning of October 6, 2025 but was not published until October 16th, 2025. It was edited for length (and to remove the hosts side quest comments). Below, listeners can find links to all of the websites the host navigated to during this research rabbit hole.

Sources of information

How U.S. immigration laws and rules have changed through history (pewresearch.org)

⁠⁠https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/09/30/how-u-s-immigration-laws-and-rules-have-changed-through-histUnited States Department of Health, Education and Welfare Recordsory/ ⁠⁠

Archives: United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare Records

⁠https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/usdhew⁠

Current Status of DACA: Explainer (August 11, 2025)

⁠https://forumtogether.org/article/current-status-of-daca-explainer/⁠

United States Census Bureau: New Report on the Nation’s Foreign-Born Population (April 9, 2024)

⁠https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/foreign-born-population.html⁠