In the late 1880s, American labor unions were a central nativist force, crucial to understanding restrictive immigration policies of the era. A hundred years later, unions were beginning to be a critical part of an alliance for immigrant rights. Unions began to organize rather than demonize immigrant workers because it was in their own interest, resulting from a decrease in the importance of borders for commerce and an increasing immigrant service industry. By highlighting how notions of race, worker and citizenship change over time within the labor movement, we gain insight into the impact of labor unions on the national immigration debate.
