Legalizing the Impossible Subject: The White Russian Refugees and the Development of American Immigration and Refugee Law during the Great Depression

During the Great Depression, states and localities expelled nearly one million ethnic Mexicans from the US. Yet, in the midst of these removals, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) launched an initiative to reform the hardships surrounding federal deportation policy. In the process, it expanded the legal architecture by which undocumented Europeans could be legalized. Based upon 500 case files, this presentation will describe a legalization program created for Russian immigrants and its implications for the development of US refugee and immigration policies.