Events Calendar

Date:
September 10, 2026
Start:
4:00pm
End:
5:00pm
Save to your calendar:
iCalendar (.ics)
Location:
TNH 2.111 (Sheffield-Massey Room)
On the web:
https://law.utexas.edu/humanrights/events/when-did-u-s-migration-enforcement-begin/

In the Supreme Court’s recent Trump v Barbara opinion on birthright citizenship, Justice Alito’s asserted in his dissent that before and soon after the Civil War “immigration was unrestricted, so aliens could come and stay as long as they wanted.” Historical evidence does not confirm his claim. Though there were few federal laws in that period, a phalanx of state-level laws restricted the international and interstate migration of free and enslaved Black people and indigent migrants. Professor Anna Law, a scholar of US immigration and constitutional history, is the author of a timely new book that addresses these subjects.

Specific audiences:
  • Texas Law students
  • Prospective students
  • Texas Law alumni
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • General public
Sponsored by:
  • William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law
  • Bernard & Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights & Justice
  • Immigration Clinic

If you need an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the sponsor listed above or the Texas Law Special Events Office at specialevents@law.utexas.edu no later than seven business days prior to the event.