Dr. S. Deborah Kang
@kangborderlaw.bsky.social
Nau Associate Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy
Author of The INS on the Line (Oxford, 2017)
Co-editor of Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States (UIP, 2025)
Washington, D.C. & Charlottesville, VA
Author of The INS on the Line (Oxford, 2017)
Co-editor of Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States (UIP, 2025)
Washington, D.C. & Charlottesville, VA
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
***New article by IEHS member @kangborderlaw.bsky.social ***
“Creating a ‘Mass Production Technique’: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952,” Journal of American Constitutional History 3, no. 3 (2025): 545-613.
jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
“Creating a ‘Mass Production Technique’: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952,” Journal of American Constitutional History 3, no. 3 (2025): 545-613.
jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
Creating a “Mass Production Technique”: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952
by S. Deborah Kang
New archival research shines a light on the anti-Mexican animus that motivated the authors and agents of the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 and reveals that racism was a feature, rathe...
jach.law.wisc.edu
November 20, 2025 at 12:00 AM
***New article by IEHS member @kangborderlaw.bsky.social ***
“Creating a ‘Mass Production Technique’: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952,” Journal of American Constitutional History 3, no. 3 (2025): 545-613.
jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
“Creating a ‘Mass Production Technique’: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952,” Journal of American Constitutional History 3, no. 3 (2025): 545-613.
jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
my takeaway from this letter is that glenn youngkin, rector sheridan and their flunkies on the board are deeply dishonest people who are engaged, with the trump administration, in a mob-style shakedown against the university of virginia
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 2:47 PM
my takeaway from this letter is that glenn youngkin, rector sheridan and their flunkies on the board are deeply dishonest people who are engaged, with the trump administration, in a mob-style shakedown against the university of virginia
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
We have this fabulous edited volume on hidden histories of unauthorized European immigration to the US, and this afternoon/evening I'll be sharing about my chapter on the Irish. These histories show that illegalization is a CHOICE. Tune in to learn more.
Please join us this Wednesday at 5pm (ET) for a conversation with the authors of Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States. Register for the webinar here: umn.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
@ihrc-umn.bsky.social @dbattisti.bsky.social @carlygoodman.bsky.social
@ihrc-umn.bsky.social @dbattisti.bsky.social @carlygoodman.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:07 PM
We have this fabulous edited volume on hidden histories of unauthorized European immigration to the US, and this afternoon/evening I'll be sharing about my chapter on the Irish. These histories show that illegalization is a CHOICE. Tune in to learn more.
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
Please do NOT miss out on this very informative event hosted by the @ihrc-umn.bsky.social on the hidden stories of European migrants to the US.
Some of MiSC's very own scholars will be participating.
It starts today, at 5pm EST. There's still time to register!
cla.umn.edu/ihrc/news-ev...
Some of MiSC's very own scholars will be participating.
It starts today, at 5pm EST. There's still time to register!
cla.umn.edu/ihrc/news-ev...
November 12, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Please do NOT miss out on this very informative event hosted by the @ihrc-umn.bsky.social on the hidden stories of European migrants to the US.
Some of MiSC's very own scholars will be participating.
It starts today, at 5pm EST. There's still time to register!
cla.umn.edu/ihrc/news-ev...
Some of MiSC's very own scholars will be participating.
It starts today, at 5pm EST. There's still time to register!
cla.umn.edu/ihrc/news-ev...
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
Reliable, transparent information about country conditions has become harder to access — yet it remains essential for fair asylum decisions and informed migration policy.
👇🧵
👇🧵
November 10, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reliable, transparent information about country conditions has become harder to access — yet it remains essential for fair asylum decisions and informed migration policy.
👇🧵
👇🧵
Please join us this Wednesday at 5pm (ET) for a conversation with the authors of Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States. Register for the webinar here: umn.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
@ihrc-umn.bsky.social @dbattisti.bsky.social @carlygoodman.bsky.social
@ihrc-umn.bsky.social @dbattisti.bsky.social @carlygoodman.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Please join us this Wednesday at 5pm (ET) for a conversation with the authors of Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States. Register for the webinar here: umn.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
@ihrc-umn.bsky.social @dbattisti.bsky.social @carlygoodman.bsky.social
@ihrc-umn.bsky.social @dbattisti.bsky.social @carlygoodman.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
***A week from today***
The IHRC invites you to the Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States webinar on Wednesday, November 12 from 4:00 to 5:15 CST.
Register at z.umn.edu/HiddenHistories.
The IHRC invites you to the Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States webinar on Wednesday, November 12 from 4:00 to 5:15 CST.
Register at z.umn.edu/HiddenHistories.
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the web...
European migrants are often depicted as the nation’s iconic legal immigrants, yet Europeans did enter and remain in the US without proper authorization. In this webinar, our experts will tell the stor...
z.umn.edu
November 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
***A week from today***
The IHRC invites you to the Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States webinar on Wednesday, November 12 from 4:00 to 5:15 CST.
Register at z.umn.edu/HiddenHistories.
The IHRC invites you to the Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States webinar on Wednesday, November 12 from 4:00 to 5:15 CST.
Register at z.umn.edu/HiddenHistories.
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
Also CBP is accustomed to “innovating”— making up their own procedures—that many times eventually become law. Meaning, CBP actually *makes* law. @kangborderlaw.bsky.social
THIS is the reason why I have consistently tried to emphasize that Border Patrol and ICE are different agencies with different duties and different leadership and different styles.
Border Patrol are the aggro cowboys compared to ICE. Now they're going to be the ones running the show.
Border Patrol are the aggro cowboys compared to ICE. Now they're going to be the ones running the show.
October 28, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Also CBP is accustomed to “innovating”— making up their own procedures—that many times eventually become law. Meaning, CBP actually *makes* law. @kangborderlaw.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
Join us Nov 12 for Hidden Histories and learn from our panel of experts about about European immigrants who entered the US without proper authorization. More info at z.umn.edu/HiddenHistories @carlygoodman.bsky.social @kangborderlaw.bsky.social @illinoispress.bsky.social @vliz.be @iehs.bsky.social
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Hidden Histories of Unauthorized Migrations from Europe to the United States. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the web...
European migrants are often depicted as the nation’s iconic legal immigrants, yet Europeans did enter and remain in the US without proper authorization. In this webinar, our experts will tell the stor...
z.umn.edu
October 28, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Join us Nov 12 for Hidden Histories and learn from our panel of experts about about European immigrants who entered the US without proper authorization. More info at z.umn.edu/HiddenHistories @carlygoodman.bsky.social @kangborderlaw.bsky.social @illinoispress.bsky.social @vliz.be @iehs.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
October 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM
🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
Life changing trip to New York where I discovered sourdough bagels & I felt like I met my tribe: law profs & attorneys set on researching & writing to change how judges decide. They green-lit my next book & I'll be forever grateful to them for the inspiration and support.
October 14, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Life changing trip to New York where I discovered sourdough bagels & I felt like I met my tribe: law profs & attorneys set on researching & writing to change how judges decide. They green-lit my next book & I'll be forever grateful to them for the inspiration and support.
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
🚨There is a hidden issue in US immigration detention: the treatment of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women. 🚨
Despite ICE's own policies against detaining these individuals, reports of medical neglect, miscarriages, and nutritional deprivation have been documented.
Despite ICE's own policies against detaining these individuals, reports of medical neglect, miscarriages, and nutritional deprivation have been documented.
September 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM
🚨There is a hidden issue in US immigration detention: the treatment of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women. 🚨
Despite ICE's own policies against detaining these individuals, reports of medical neglect, miscarriages, and nutritional deprivation have been documented.
Despite ICE's own policies against detaining these individuals, reports of medical neglect, miscarriages, and nutritional deprivation have been documented.
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
🗣️ New from MiSC scholar Jenna Loyd for @publicbooks.bsky.social.
The article challenges the idea that "the border" is just a line on a map. Instead, it's a technology—a tool that mixes law, territory, bureaucracy & policing to control human mobility.
🧵 ⤵️
www.publicbooks.org/with-big-tec...
The article challenges the idea that "the border" is just a line on a map. Instead, it's a technology—a tool that mixes law, territory, bureaucracy & policing to control human mobility.
🧵 ⤵️
www.publicbooks.org/with-big-tec...
With Big Tech, the Border Is Everywhere - Public Books
Given that the border is already mystified as a technology, new forms of computerized border technologies doubly fetishize the configurations of people, materials, force, and law that compose borderin...
www.publicbooks.org
September 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
🗣️ New from MiSC scholar Jenna Loyd for @publicbooks.bsky.social.
The article challenges the idea that "the border" is just a line on a map. Instead, it's a technology—a tool that mixes law, territory, bureaucracy & policing to control human mobility.
🧵 ⤵️
www.publicbooks.org/with-big-tec...
The article challenges the idea that "the border" is just a line on a map. Instead, it's a technology—a tool that mixes law, territory, bureaucracy & policing to control human mobility.
🧵 ⤵️
www.publicbooks.org/with-big-tec...
There was a time in the past when these stops were illegal. I've written about this here: www.pbssocal.org/shows/artbou... and here: medium.com/@sdkang2020/... and here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
See also Lindsay Nash's: michiganlawreview.org/journal/inve...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...
See also Lindsay Nash's: michiganlawreview.org/journal/inve...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...
Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Stops
www.nytimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 7:57 PM
There was a time in the past when these stops were illegal. I've written about this here: www.pbssocal.org/shows/artbou... and here: medium.com/@sdkang2020/... and here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
See also Lindsay Nash's: michiganlawreview.org/journal/inve...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...
See also Lindsay Nash's: michiganlawreview.org/journal/inve...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
The Summer 2025 issue of the Journal of American Constitutional History is now live! In this issue: articles by Gerard N. Magliocca, S. Deborah Kang (@kangborderlaw.bsky.social), Sam Erman and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, and a book review by Katherine Shaw. Read it here: buff.ly/6a9ecwr.
Journal of American Constitutional History
The Journal of American Constitutional History is a peer-reviewed web-based journal publishing high-quality scholarship on U.S. constitutional history. Our editorial board includes over 60 leading…
buff.ly
August 21, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The Summer 2025 issue of the Journal of American Constitutional History is now live! In this issue: articles by Gerard N. Magliocca, S. Deborah Kang (@kangborderlaw.bsky.social), Sam Erman and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, and a book review by Katherine Shaw. Read it here: buff.ly/6a9ecwr.
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
🗃️ Important new research on anti-Mexican racism and immigration law here 👇🏽
Delighted to see this piece in print: jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
Many thanks to the Journal of American Constitutional History for creating an online space for publishing legal historical work, esp. since making this piece accessible to scholars and advocates was my number one priority.
Many thanks to the Journal of American Constitutional History for creating an online space for publishing legal historical work, esp. since making this piece accessible to scholars and advocates was my number one priority.
Creating a “Mass Production Technique”: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952
by S. Deborah Kang
New archival research shines a light on the anti-Mexican animus that motivated the authors and agents of the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 and reveals that racism was a feature, rathe...
jach.law.wisc.edu
August 20, 2025 at 2:05 PM
🗃️ Important new research on anti-Mexican racism and immigration law here 👇🏽
Delighted to see this piece in print: jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
Many thanks to the Journal of American Constitutional History for creating an online space for publishing legal historical work, esp. since making this piece accessible to scholars and advocates was my number one priority.
Many thanks to the Journal of American Constitutional History for creating an online space for publishing legal historical work, esp. since making this piece accessible to scholars and advocates was my number one priority.
Creating a “Mass Production Technique”: Anti-Mexican Racism and the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952
by S. Deborah Kang
New archival research shines a light on the anti-Mexican animus that motivated the authors and agents of the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 and reveals that racism was a feature, rathe...
jach.law.wisc.edu
August 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Delighted to see this piece in print: jach.law.wisc.edu/anti-mexican...
Many thanks to the Journal of American Constitutional History for creating an online space for publishing legal historical work, esp. since making this piece accessible to scholars and advocates was my number one priority.
Many thanks to the Journal of American Constitutional History for creating an online space for publishing legal historical work, esp. since making this piece accessible to scholars and advocates was my number one priority.
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
1/12 🧵 As migration scholars, we're honored to highlight @naomipaik.bsky.social's timely "Sanctuary for All," published by @oxunipress.bsky.social for @icahdq.bsky.social. She argues: with Project 2025 threats, expansive sanctuary is crucial for all. ⤵️
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
July 6, 2025 at 10:27 PM
1/12 🧵 As migration scholars, we're honored to highlight @naomipaik.bsky.social's timely "Sanctuary for All," published by @oxunipress.bsky.social for @icahdq.bsky.social. She argues: with Project 2025 threats, expansive sanctuary is crucial for all. ⤵️
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
academic.oup.com/ccc/article/...
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
USAID didn’t fail. It fed 127,000 kids—then was erased mid-crisis. No speech. No tribute. Just silence. They didn’t end a program. They liquidated a covenant. The last American promise not built on conquest—but care.
🔗 thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com
🔗 thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com
July 5, 2025 at 4:49 PM
USAID didn’t fail. It fed 127,000 kids—then was erased mid-crisis. No speech. No tribute. Just silence. They didn’t end a program. They liquidated a covenant. The last American promise not built on conquest—but care.
🔗 thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com
🔗 thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
First @shafrhistorians.bsky.social conference ✅ Thank you to @vgonzalezmaltes.bsky.social for coordinating our panel, to @rerbelding.bsky.social for being a great co-panelist, and to @kangborderlaw.bsky.social our wonderful chair/commentator!
June 29, 2025 at 1:25 AM
First @shafrhistorians.bsky.social conference ✅ Thank you to @vgonzalezmaltes.bsky.social for coordinating our panel, to @rerbelding.bsky.social for being a great co-panelist, and to @kangborderlaw.bsky.social our wonderful chair/commentator!
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
This. If we have learned nothing in the last six months, it is that appeasement does not work
I have seen Jim's resignation letter and I still do not believe that him resigning will do anything to protect anybody else's job (I appreciate that he sees things differently). Columbia has not gotten their grants back. There is no proof they won't just keep punishing UVA.
June 27, 2025 at 8:46 PM
This. If we have learned nothing in the last six months, it is that appeasement does not work
Reposted by Dr. S. Deborah Kang
My statement with @markwarner.bsky.social on reporting that President Jim Ryan was pressured to resign from the University of Virginia by the Trump Administration:
June 27, 2025 at 6:55 PM
My statement with @markwarner.bsky.social on reporting that President Jim Ryan was pressured to resign from the University of Virginia by the Trump Administration: