LCCC to host author of immigration book

Lehigh Carbon Community College will host the presentation “How Immigration became a ‘Problem’ and then a ‘Crime,’” at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday. Sponsored by the college’s Honors Council, the event will be held in the Lisa Scheller and Wayne Woodman Community Services Center, Rooms 203/205, at the college’s main campus in Schnecksville.

The speaker, Thomas Mackaman, associate professor of history at King’s College, specializes in U.S. labor and immigration history. He is the author of “New Immigrants and the Radicalization of American Labor, 1914-1924 (McFarland, 2016).”

Until the late 19th century, there were few laws against immigrants settling in the U.S., and noncitizens could even vote in American elections. While there have been other periods of U.S. history in which anti-immigrant sentiments existed, immigration itself was not considered a problem to be legislated against and subjected to criminal prosecution.

This presentation will make the case that it was not until the early 20th century that immigration came to be viewed as a “problem,” and only in the 1980s that it came to be viewed as a “crime.” It will further argue that these changes have more to do with broader historical questions than those involving the immigrants themselves.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Contact Christine Bowditch, professor of Sociology, at cbowditch@lccc.edu or 610-799-1755.