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.
\n\nIf you need an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the event sponsor or the Texas Law Special Events Office at specialevents@law.utexas.edu no later than seven business days prior to the event. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: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.
If you need an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the event event sponsor or the Texas Law Special Events Office at specialevents@law.utexas.edu no later than seven business days prior to the event.
LOCATION:TNH 2.111 - Sheffield-Massey Room URL:http://law.utexas.edu/calendar/2026/09/10/89037/ CLASS:PUBLIC STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR