Salem Press

	A good contribution to the study of immigration in the U.S. and is recommended for high school and public libraries. Even libraries that own some of the larger sets on which it is based will appreciate the convenience of having widely scattered material pulled together in two volumes.
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Immigration in US History
Green Cards

Definition: Identification documents carried by immigrants in the United
    States certifying that they are legal residents
Immigration Issues: Border control; Citizenship and naturalization;
    Illegal immigration; Labor; Law enforcement
Significance: Crucial possessions to resident aliens in the United States,
    green cards have come to symbolize the aspirations of many immigrants.

The formal name of the plastic identity cards certifying that their bearers are legally admitted resident aliens is Alien Registration Receipt Cards. First used during the 1940's, when the United States began registering and fingerprinting aliens as a wartime security precaution, the cards were originally green. They have continued to be known as "green cards," even though their color and design have been changed several times to deter forgery. They were blue during the 1960's and 1970's, white during the 1980's, and pink during the 1990's.

The cards are issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to aliens who have fully complied with the provisions of the immigration laws governing their admission to the United States as permanent residents eligible for naturalization. Each card contains the alien's name, photograph, thumbprint, date of birth, registration number, and an expiration date. Cards issued since 1989 expire after ten years.

The cards are highly valued, because they permit holders to legally seek gainful employment and to live undisturbed anywhere in the United States. Illegal aliens violate the immigration laws if they accept employment and are subject to deportation when discovered living in the United States. Students and visitors temporarily resident in the country are also barred from working and are subject to deportation if they overstay the visitor's period specified in their entrance visas.

Because of the value of green cards, a whole industry has sprung up to forge them. On occasion, INS employees have succumbed to the temptation to sell cards for substantial payments. Prices vary widely. In 1990, for example, an INS manager was accused of accepting more than $100,000 in bribes from Colombian drug smugglers for supplying false official documents that authorized the issuance of authentic green cards. Reportedly, false green cards could be purchased for as little as twenty dollars in central Los Angeles. Even if crude, the cards permit employers to hire cheap labor while appearing to comply with the letter of the law, which prohibits them from knowingly hiring illegal aliens.

Green card holders are entitled to apply for naturalization as United States citizens after five years of residence provided they have not engaged in criminal activity, can read and write simple English, and demonstrate a basic knowledge of the history and government of the United States. They must pay income tax on all money earned anywhere in the world and cannot remain outside the country for more than one year without special permission. Aliens enjoy the civil rights, liberties, and due process of law guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, as well as the protections of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments in criminal matters. When conscription is in force, green card holders can be drafted into the armed forces and may be required to register with the Selective Service. However, unlike American citizens, they are not entitled to U.S. passports or the protection of U.S. consulates when traveling abroad.

Milton Berman

Further Reading
Baldwin, Carl R. Immigration: Questions and Answers. New York: Allworth Press, 1995.

Becker, Aliza. Citizenship for Us: A Handbook on Naturalization & Citizenship. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, 2002.

Kimmel, Barbara B., and Alan M. Lubiner. Immigration Made Simple: An Easy Guide to the U.S. Immigration Process. Rev. ed. Chester, N.J.: Next Decade, 1996.

Lewis, Loida Nicolas. How to Get a Green Card. 6th ed. Berkeley, Calif.: Nolo, 2005.

Merritt, Nancy Jo, and Richard L. Strohm. Understanding Immigration Law: How to Enter, Work, and Live in the United States. Rev. ed. Franklin Lakes, N.J.: Career Press, 1994.

Yoshida, Chisato, and Alan D. Woodland. The Economics of Illegal Immigration. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

LeMay, Michael, and Elliott Robert Barkan, eds. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues: A Documentary History. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.

Staeger, Rob. Deported Aliens. Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2004. Up-to-date analysis of the treatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States since the 1960's, with particular attention to issues relating to deportation.

Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004. Scholarly study of social and legal issues relating to illegal aliens in the United States during the twenty-first century.

See Also
Border Patrol, U.S.; Illegal aliens; Immigration law.