Why I wouldn't exist without anti-immigration laws

So I haven’t written about SB 1070 or really any other immigration policy. But I would like to highlight one case where anti-immigration laws were helpful, if you believe, as I do, that my existence is a Good Thing.

My grandfather, Masao, initially wanted to be a literature professor at the University of Tokyo. Throughout his life, he became a fairly accomplished haiku poet of some regard, and was a favored student of Kyoshi Takahama. A picture of him and Takahama appears in this post.

But his father, who was apparently aware of the prevailing sentiment in California politics, encouraged Masao to join him in the US while it was still permitted. So grandpa took a slow boat to California and became a farm laborer. My grandfather, Masao, was living in Pasadena, CA and, like many lonely bachelors, sought female companionship. So, he had his family in Japan find him a picture bride.

it turns out, there were two sisters from the outskirts of Hiroshima that were single, young, and quite attractive, both of whom were American citizens because they were born in the Hawai’i, then a US territory. He decided on the younger of the two, Kikumi.

So Kikumi hopped on a very, very slow boat from Japan to Hawai’i, along with a few other picture brides. She met up with her family on Oahu. Her brother apparently harbored her there – she didn’t want to marry some stranger on the mainland – until a letter came from my grandpa complaining about a missing bride. So, reluctantly, she took another ship and landed in Southern California.

When she disembarked, she circled the boat, looking for her sister, who had been married off and preceded her to California. Instead, my grandfather walked up, introduced himself, and told her that he would drive her to see her sister and brother-in-law in Pasadena. According to legend, she told him, “I don’t trust you”. (She had only about a fourth grade education, but apparently plenty of good sense.) Through a combination of charm and sincerity, my grandpa convinced her of his good intentions.

What does this have to do with immigration laws? Well, as I documented in a previous post on Prop 8 and the history of discriminatory law in California, there was a raft of legislation in the early 20th century that sought to curtail the “Yellow menace” of Asian immigration.

In particular, the Immigration Act of 1924 prompted my grandfather to return to the United States. But perhaps more intriguingly, that same act made it all but impossible for most would-be picture brides, because it explicitly forbade immigration by individuals who could not become citizens. In other words, if you weren’t already a US citizen in Japan, you had no possibility of immigrating legally. (Aside: one of my grandpa’s haiku group members did jump ship in Los Angeles, making him, quite possibly literally, an “Original Wetback”.)

In other words, without the anti-immigrant legislation on the books, my grandpa would’ve been free to marry anyone who was willing to board a ship from Japan. And I would not exist as I am today.

Here’s hoping that, at the least, some love stories come out of SB 1070.