LSJ 329 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: New York City Police Department, Religious Text, Double Consciousness
5 Apr 2016
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Current medical grounds for inadmissibility: communicable diseases of public health significance, lack of required vaccinations, physical or mental disorders w/ harmful behavior, drug abuse or addiction. Medical examination is a useful discourse for determining who is admissible. Ellis island - immigrants agents would visually mark bodies that were seen as good and healthy migrant bodies that would be admissible. Passports were not trusted by officials at ellis island: they had little faith in documents to identify an individual vs self-presentation. Official discretion reflected an expertise in: authority derived from legal understanding of immigration law, popular belief in the body and personal appearance as reliable evidence and identity and character. Personal appearance was a more reliable form of evidence of character: ex: immigrants traveling in steerage is an indicator they cannot afford first class, making them poor and a potential public charge. Chinese exclusion act 1882: required elaborate system of registration, certification and identification.
