Ira Gollobin Papers
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Abstract
Ira Gollobin (1911-2008) was a civil rights attorney who focused on immigration law. Gollobin worked for the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born from 1936-1982 and served as general counsel for the organization. During the 1980s, Gollobin served on the the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees. He was involved in other left-wing causes, including defending individuals under investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee. The collection contains case files representing Gollobin's work on both immigration and HUAC issues from the 1940s-1990. A significant portion of the collection represents research and advocacy regarding legal issues surrounding immigrant rights and labor. These materials including clippings, correspondence, pamphlets, posters, press releases, pleadings, and reports from nonprofits and government agencies. Prominent themes include labor issues for undocumented workers from Latin America, Haitian refugees, the dragnet raids on undocumented workers in the 1970s, the Rodino immigration bills of the 1970s, and positions of unions and other stakeholders in the ensuing legislative debate. A significant portion of the collection's documents were generated by the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born.
Historical/Biographical Note
Ira Gollobin (1911-2008) was a civil rights attorney who focused on immigration law. Gollobin began working with the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (1933-1982) in 1936, and he would later serve as general counsel for the organization. During the 1980s, Gollobin served on the the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees. Gollobin also did pro bono work to protect the rights of immigrants and refugees and was involved in other left-wing causes, including defending individuals under investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Gollobin also authored a book titled Dialectical Materialism: Its Laws, Categories, and Practice.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Content Note
The collection documents Ira Gollobin's activities as an attorney and activist in the areas of immigration law and civil rights between the 1940s and 1980s.
Included is a case file for Hokeng and Wang Yung Hsieh, who Gollobin represented when they were deported to the People's Republic of China in 1954. There are also several case files on Gollobin's activities defending individuals investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Materials in case files include pleadings, correspondence, notes, and news clippings.
A significant portion of the collection consists of research and advocacy surrounding immigration law and labor. These materials include clippings, correspondence, pamphlets, posters, press releases, pleadings, and reports from advocacy groups and government agencies. Prominent themes include labor issues for undocumented workers from Latin America, Haitian refugees, the dragnet raids on undocumented workers in the 1970s, the Rodino immigration bills of the 1970s, and positions of unions and other stakeholders in the ensuing legislative debate. A significant portion of the collection's documents were generated by the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born.
Subjects
Organizations
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in circa 1940-1990, are expected to enter the public domain in 2110.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Ira Gollobin Papers; TAM 278; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials found in collection; provenance is unknown. The accession number associated with this collection is 1950.088.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection came to the repository in 2008 and was reboxed at this time. In 2013, minimal processing was undertaken to address preservation issues and provide box level access. Underfilled boxes were consolidated and acidic or dirty folders were replaced with archival folders. This amounted to about two thirds of total folders. Original titles were transcribed. Extensive duplicates and direct mailing advertisements were deaccessioned.
No archivist-devised arrangement was applied. Description was added at the box level to give researchers a sense of predominant themes and material types, and a finding aid with collection-level notes was written.
