Thursday November 26, 2009 Join the show: 1-800-433-8850 drshow@wamu.org
It was the The Diane Rehm Show. She talked with Vincent Cannato who wrote the book "American Passage: The History of Ellis Island"
From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island witnessed the greatest mass immigration of people the world has ever seen. The story of the tiny New York Island that served as a gateway for twelve million immigrants.
One interesting thing they said on the show was the initiallly the STATES regulated immigration and determined who would and who would not enter the USA.
Then over the years it change from the states regulating immigration to Congress passing laws about immigration and the Federal government regulating immigration.
It would be interesting to look at the US Constitution and see if the Feds or the States have the power to control immigration or maybe both of them have the power I don't know.
While personally I think we should fire everybody that works for the INS and Homeland Security and rip down all the fences that seperate the USA from Mexico and Canada that logic says that Sheriff Joe is right and HE has the right to enforce immigration laws.
