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Establishment of Jamestown, Virginia
European migration to the West and early colonization begins. Jamestown, Virginia was one of the first original colonies to become established. Colonization symbolizes both the beginning of the United States, as well as the fact that our country was founded upon immigration. -
Naturalization Law of 1790
This law/act allowed for the first steps to be taken towards American citizenship. It granted citizenship to "all free, white persons" if they had lived in the United States for at least two years. The law also extended to the children of white, American citizens. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of laws passed during the year 1798 that allowed for the deportation of "aliens" in the United States, and required people to wait 14 years before granted citizenship. The Sedition Act also condemned "false, malicious" publications as treason, as a means to suppress opposition from the Republican party. This series of laws was met with large public opposition, and was repealed by Thomas Jefferson when he was elected into office in 1800. -
Steerage Act of 1819
The Steerage Act of 1819 was enacted as a response to the poor transportation conditions that European immigrants experienced aboard ships. The act required that ship captains keep track of the immigrants on their ships, and it also paved the way for more careful record keeping in America: in 1820, immigrants were recorded in the United States census for the first time. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ultimately ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, but holds importance within the spectrum of immigration because 80,000 Mexican nationals were granted American citizenship because they lived in the territory that was surrendered to the United States as a result of the war. This territory currently makes up the southwestern United States. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment addressed the definition of citizenship and granted citizenship and its benefits/protections to African-Americans. This amendment was faced with much opposition from states in the former Confederacy, but was a progressive step in terms of immigration because it redefined what it meant to be an American citizen and extended that definition to former black slaves. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
The enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first federal legislation that openly restricted immigration into the United States. The act was stemmed from an opposition to the increasing numbers of Chinese immigrants who came to America as a result of the Gold Rush and increasing workforce. The act prevented the Chinese to immigrate to America for 10 years, and did not grant Chinese people United States citizenship. -
Immigration Act of 1907
The Immigration Act of 1907 called for more restrictive immigration measures, and specifically impacted the southwestern area of the United States because it rearranged the borders of the states to create what was known as the "Mexican Border District." This reorganization of the states "stemmed the flow of immigrants into [the country]." -
The Literacy Act of 1917
This act (also known as the Immigration Act of 1917 or the Asiatic Barred Zone Act) instigated required English literacy tests in order to be granted American citizenship. The act subtly prevented many Asians from entering America, and "marked a turn towards [American] nativism." -
The Emergency Quota Act
The Quota Act of 1921 set a limit on immigration into America by restricting the annual number of immigrants from any given country to 3% of the current number of American residents from the same country. This had a huge impact on the number of Southern and Eastern European immigrants in America, and continued to prevent Asian immigrants from entering the country. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The 1924 Immigration Act redefined the approved immigration quota and granted United States citizenship to Native Americans. This act also established the official Border Patrol. -
Passage of Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act built upon the 1940 Alien Registration Act, by instigating the current "green card" immigration receipt system. The green card is proof and documentation of legal immigration, and is still the system that is used today. -
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
The Immigration and Nationality Act removed all racially-based immigration restrictions. Although the act did maintain an immigration quota, people could not prevented from entering the United States based on their race and nationality. -
Immigration Amnesty
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty to many illegal United States immigrants and altered the American workforce by placing limitations on the abilities of employers to hire illegal immigrants. -
USA PATRIOT Act of 2001
The USA Patriot Act was created and enacted as a result of the terrorist bombings that took place on September 11, 2001. The act takes measures to oppose terrorism by intercepting and preventing potential immigrants who are aligned with terrorist groups from entering America. The act, originally signed by George W. Bush, still exists today and has been renewed and built upon by President Barack Obama.
