Still not quite in D.C. yet, but I did hear back from the NARA archivist in charge of the INS collections. I had sent him a list of about 40 files that I wanted to look at, to see if they existed, and to get them approved. Of the 40, he's gotten through about 20, and of those 20, about half don't exist. Interestingly enough, almost all of the missing files are categorized under the keyword "children." I'm not quite sure if I should take that as some kind of sign...Still, it's nice to know there are already 2 boxes of materials ready for me to look at.
I've also sat down and compiled a list of all the collections I want to look at - INS records and legislative archives at NARA Downtown; State Department and Displaced Persons Commission Records at NARA College Park; and the Emmanuel Celler records at the Library of Congress. There's also a number of items related to "National Origins" in the Secretary of Agriculture's "Foreign Policy" files. I'm still not sure what immigration, foreign policy, and national origins have to do with Agriculture (at least post-WWII), but I guess we'll find out!
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