Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menunjukkan suatu hubungan yang paradoksal antara kebijakan imigrasi yang berlaku umum dan kebijakan keamanan nasional dan nilai-nilai inti dalam masyarakat Amerika yang terbuka, khususnya imigran ilegal Meksiko di California.Permasalahan penelitian ini adalah bagaimana upaya-upaya pemerintah Amerika Serikat membendung kedatangan para imigran ilegal dari Meksiko masuk ke negara bagian California, khususnya kebijakan-kebijakan represif unilateral.Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan analisis-interpretatif. Teknik pengumpulan data melalui studi kepustakaan.Kebijakan imigrasi Amerika Serikat terhadap para imigran ilegal Meksiko di California pasta tahun 1900-an sampai dengan awal tahun 2000-an menunjukan bahwa masalah imigran ilegal Meksiko tidak akan dapat dicegah selama ada hubungan ekonomi antara Amerika Serikat dan Meksiko.Argumentasi-argumentasi yang mendukung kebebasan imigrasi atau kebijakan pintu terbuka membuktikan bahwa ketakutan akan identitas nasional dan kultural Amerika adalah berlebihan. Pemerintah Amerika Serikat secara aktif memainkan kebijakan imigrasi terutama terhadap para imigran-imigran dari Meksiko, dan mengikuti hukum permintaan dan penawaran.Pemberlakuan "The Anti Terrorism and Effective Death Reality Act of 1996 (AEDPA), The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), The USA Patriot Act of 2001, dan The Homeland Security Act of 2002", mengakibatkan Undang-Undang Imigrasi dan prosedurnya telah mengalami perubahan yang penting.

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The research is aimed at indicating a paradoxical relationship between a generally applicable immigration policy and the national security policy and the core values of an open American society, specifically illegal immigrants from Mexico.

The research problem lies in the question of what efforts the American government has made to entry of illegal immigrants from Mexico into the state of California, specifically unilateral repressive policy.

The research has been conducted employing the qualitative methodology in an analytical-descriptive manner. Data has been gathered through library research.

The American immigration policies on illegal immigrants from Mexico in California from the period following the 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s, inclusive, indicate that the entry of these immigrants would not be capable of being prevented so long as there were economic relationships between the USA and Mexico.

Arguments in favor of immigration freedom or open-door policy prove that fear of the loss of American national identity and culture has been exaggerated. The American government has actively modified immigration policies on Mexican immigrants and followed the law of supply and demand.

The adoption of the "The Anti Terrorism and Effective Death Reality Act of 1996 (AEDPA), The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), The USA Patriot Act of 2001, and The Homeland Security Act of 2002", has resulted in significant changes in the Immigration Act and the relevant procedures.