Immigration policy and the racialization of migrant labour: The construction of national identities in the USA and Britain

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Abstract
This article is a comparative study of the racialization of migrant labour. Taking the USA 1900–1925 and Britain 1948–1962 as case‐studies, we examine the role of the state in constructing migration in ‘race’ terms and shaping the conditions under which certain categories of migrant workers participate in the labour market. We focus on debates over immigration and citizenship policy because these are key moments in the ‘race making’ process and the construction of national identities. Through an investigation of government discourses surrounding restrictive legislation in both countries, we argue firstly, that notions of ‘race’, nation and national identity are political constructs that require constant policing and refurbishment. Secondly, we contend that the state plays a key role in the racialization of populations through immigration and nationality controls. Thirdly, the racialized nature of immigration regulation both structures the way in which migrants are situated within the labour market and valorizes notions of ‘race’ difference. Despite significant differences in the way in which these processes developed in the USA and Britain, comparative analysis points to important similarities. In both social formations the reconstitution of national identities was articulated through concepts of ‘race’, in which colour remained a key signifier of difference. Through immigration and nationality laws, governments ranked human populations into hierarchies of assimilability, in which some groups were regarded as more likely to ‘fit in’ than others. Once racialized in this way, migrant workers found themselves allocated to particular areas of the labour market and confined to particular positions within the labour process.

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