Inside U.S. Immigration Policy: The Historical and Social Forces Shaping Contemporary Debates provides a comprehensive introduction to development of U.S. immigration and immigration policies from the nation's colonial beginnings to present day.

Written for students of social welfare, social work, public policy, sociology, and history - the book develops a clear and historical framework for understanding current controversies around immigration. 

Bryan Warde offers a thoroughly researched account of immigration policies spanning 1882 to the present.  He calls upon theories and ideologies that explain conflicting views and shifting attitudes on immigrants and immigration.

The book’s discussion is organized chronologically and each chapter supports students in developing skills and knowledge to analyze and unpack the extent to which societal structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, create, or enhance privilege and power in the context of immigration policies.

It also reveals forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination - and leads readers to consider sociopolitical factors that shape social policy and provision of services to marginalized populations.

Bryan Warde is Professor of Social Work at Lehman College.