T. Alexander Aleinikoff – författare

In a set of cases decided at the end of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court declared that Congress had "plenary power" to regulate immigration, Indian tribes, and newly acquired territories. Not coincidentally, the groups subject to Congress' plenary power were primarily nonwhite and generally perceived as "uncivilized." The Court left Congress free to craft policies of assimilation, exclusion, paternalism, and domination.Despite dramatic shifts in constitutional law in the twentieth century, the plenary power case decisions remain largely the controlling law. The Warren Court, widely recognized for its dedication to individual rights, focused on ensuring "full and equal citizenship"--an agenda that utterly neglected immigrants, tribes, and residents of the territories. The Rehnquist Court has appropriated the Warren Court's rhetoric of citizenship, but has used it to strike down policies that support diversity and the sovereignty of Indian tribes.Attuned to the demands of a new century, the author argues for abandonment of the plenary power cases, and for more flexible conceptions of sovereignty and citizenship. The federal government ought to negotiate compacts with Indian tribes and the territories that affirm more durable forms of self-government. Citizenship should be "decentered," understood as a commitment to an intergenerational national project, not a basis for denying rights to immigrants.

Why an account of "the peopling" of the United States must include the stories of indigenous people, enslaved persons, and those living in territories and foreign nations taken and acquired by the United States.In New Narratives on the Peopling of America, editors T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Alexandra Délano Alonso present an extraordinary collection of original essays that reshape our understanding of the peopling of the United States. This thought-provoking volume goes beyond conventional accounts of immigration by reexamining narratives about foreign-born populations in the United States. It situates them as part of a larger story of forced displacement and dispossession that needs to include indigenous people, enslaved persons, deported and returned migrants, and those residing in territories and foreign nations acquired by the United States.The diverse range of contributors—which include academics, journalists, artists, legal scholars, and activists—confront complex topics such as migration, racial justice, tribal sovereignty, and the pursuit of equality. As nationalism, globalization, and economic challenges reshape the social and political landscape, this timely volume calls for a reevaluation and reconstruction of national narratives of belonging. Challenging nativist tropes and offering broader understandings of collective history, this pathbreaking book centers issues of race and dispossession in the story of the American people.New Narratives on the Peopling of America is an essential resource for students and a compelling read for general readers seeking a deeper understanding of the complex tapestry of American identity. Contributors: Neil Agarwal; T. Alexander Aleinikoff; Jill Anderson; Kwame Anthony Appiah; Hana Brown; Alexandra Délano Alonso; Allison Dorsey; Taylor Dow; Maria Cristina Garcia; Justin Gest; Daniel Immerwahr; Jennifer A. Jones; Katy Long; Maggie Loredo; Dakota Mace; Ruth Milkman; Ana Raquel Minian; Carlos Motta; Mae Ngai; Eboo Patel; QUEEROCRACY; Marco Saavedra; Cinthya Santos Briones; Rogers M. Smith; Pireeni Sundaralingam; Héctor Tobar; Jesús I.Valles; Wendy A. Vogt; John Weeks

The international refugee regime is fundamentally broken. Designed in the wake of World War II to provide protection and assistance, the system is unable to address the record numbers of persons displaced by conflict and violence today. States have put up fences and adopted policies to deny, deter, and detain asylum seekers. People recognized as refugees are routinely denied rights guaranteed by international law. The results are dismal for the millions of refugees around the world who are left with slender prospects to rebuild their lives or contribute to host communities. T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Leah Zamore lay bare the underlying global crisis of responsibility.The Arc of Protection adopts a revisionist and critical perspective that examines the original premises of the international refugee regime. Aleinikoff and Zamore identify compromises at the founding of the system that attempted to balance humanitarian ideals and sovereign control of their borders by states. This book offers a way out of the current international morass through refocusing on responsibility-sharing, seeing the humanitarian-development divide in a new light, and putting refugee rights front and center.