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1492
Christopher Columbus arrives in the Bahamas
The famous Christopher Columbus sails the seas and finds... the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and Cuba.
Unbeknown to Columbus and England, the later English occupied lands of the U.S. had at least 375 different languages in 1492. Over half of the native population would die due to diseases brought from England.
Kaplan -
Period: 1499 to 1502
Amerigo Vespucci finds South American Coast
Several trips along the South American coast from 1499 to 1502 have Europeans realizing there is a new continent they had no prior knowledge of.
Kaplan -
1565
First European Settlement
First permanent European settlement in the U.S. is established as St. Augustine, Florida, by the Spanish. -
Spanish Immigrants Settle in Texas & New Mexico
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Colonial Immigration from England Begins
Jamestown settlement on the James River is the first English settlement in the Western hemisphere. The original thirteen colonies would be established by English settlers and remain as almost entirely English colonies until the Eighteenth century.
Britannica
National Park Service -
Importation of African Slaves Begins
Starting with just 20 indentured servants for the slave trade, the trans-Atlantic slave trade begins in Jamestown Virginia. 500,000 African Americans would populate the New World by the end of the colonial period, making up 20% of the population.
ProCon -
Period: to
The Great Migration
21,000 immigrants come to New England. 1/3 are Britons. -
Permission to Host Aliens
General Court of Massachusetts stated that no one in the colony could receive or host any alien without permission.
ProCon -
10,000 Indentured Servants from England
England sent around 10,000 indentured servants from England to the colonies. Some volunteered but most were kidnapped and/or forced to serve for the next twelve years. Shippers made profits off of the trafficking's of people.
ProCon -
Salem Witch Trials
Salem Witch Trials occur in Massachusetts. -
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Britain Limits Naturalization & Rights
English deemed those without naturalization as "denizens" and allowed skilled workers to immigrate to the colonies for Englishmen.
CATO -
Lame, Impotent, or Infirm Persons Prohibited
By the Province Law of Massachusetts, that those who were considered to be lame, impotent, or infirm could not come unless they could support themselves and increased the bond for settlement.
This was largely due to suspicions of quaker and religious differences.
ProCon -
Transportation Act
Gave the English courts the ability to transport convicts to the colonies.
52,000 indentured servants were sent to the American Colonies before the American Revolution. 1718-1775
CATO -
Oath of Allegiance for German Immigrants
The Governor of Pennsylvania has Germany settlers pledge an out due to their lack of identity, origin, or intentions.
ProCon -
Scottish & Irish Immigration Begins
Most settled in New England, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. -
Period: to
Immigration Laws Ignored - Tax & Health Inspections
The Pennsylvania Law of the prohibition of lame, impotent, or infirm people was ignored by shippers who did not require anything more than payment. Due to this, Penn. would require that shippers dock a mile away from the port to have a physician inspect the immigrants before allowing them entry.
ProCon -
Plantation Act of 1740
Reduced naturalization process to encourage settlement in colonies. Required 7-years of residency and tests on religion and pledge of allegiance.
CATO -
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End of Colonial Naturalization Authority
Britain did not want immigration to the lands won during the Seven Year War.
Written in the Declaration of Independence as "obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners."
CATO -
Diminished jus soli and jus sanguinis
Pledged allegiance granted citizenship.
CATO -
Declaration of Independence
U.S. declares their independence from the British Empire. -
Thomas Paine publishes "Common Sense"
Paine argues for a New America. Most colonists consider themselves to be British, but Paine argues for independence. -
Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation allowed states to decide how to decide citizenship and naturalization.
Each state had a variety of plans such as one year residency, oaths of allegiance, or declarations of religious beliefs.
ProCon -
First Native American Reservation
The first U.S. Native American reservation is formed as well as a policy on how to deal with the tribes.
Library of Congress -
The Constitution of the United States of America
Gives rights to free white men. -
Naturalization Act of 1790
Any free white person of "good character" who has lived in the U.S. for at least 2 years, can now become a citizen.
All of ethnicities are denied rights and property.
History -
Population - 3.9 million
First U.S. Census, excluding Native Americans:
80.7% white
19.3% almost all African American
69.3% immigrated from England, Scotland, or Wales
CATO -
The Bill of Rights
Gave personal freedoms and limitations of the government. -
Jays Treaty
British needed to evacuate their Northwestern territories by June 1796. The settlers could decide if they wanted to become Americans.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Naturalization Act of 1795
1 Stat. 414 increased the amount of time an immigrant had lived in the use to obtain Naturalization from 2 to 5 years. People with noble titles had to renounce them in court.
ProCon -
Quarantine & Health Act
Allowed the president to use Customs Collects to enforce quarantine and state health laws.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Period: to
Alien and Sedition Acts
Anyone feared to be a political threat is legally deportation due to European conflicts.
Immigration History -
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Foreign Slave Trade Becomes Illegal
When the Haitian revolution occured in 1803, it led Congress to ban slave importation of Free African Americans.
50,000 slaves would become the first illegal immigrants to the U.S.
Is believed to be a move to quiet the anti-slavery protesters.
Immigration History -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 prevents oceanic transportation stopping almost all immigration. -
Native Americans Forced from Tribal Land
It was decided that Native Americans did not qualify for naturalization. The government then forced the Native Americans to move West of the Mississippi River.
Land sales increased between 1820-1850 as they sold Native Americans lands.
ProCon -
Irish Immigration and Anti-Irish Sentiments
Irish were denounced by nativists due to their ways of life. Attacks on Irish due to their religion became common place. Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk depicted the acts and became a best selling book.
ProCon -
The Steerage Act
Immigration across the Atlantic was mostly unregulated. Under the new Act, better conditions were required upon the ships that arrived to the U.S. and immigrants were required to report their arrival to the U.S. government. -
Compromise of 1820
To assist with the division of slave and free states, African American enslavement is allowed in Missouri and Maine is a free state. Prohibits any slavery north of Missouri.
Library of Congress -
Period: to
The First Great Wave of Immigration
10 million immigrants arrive in the United States, most from Europe. -
Period: to
Irish & German Settlers
Irish immigrants will make up 1/3 of all immigration to the United States.
5 million German immigrants also come to the US and buy farms or live in the cities. -
Johnson v. M’Intosh
Ruling that established the U.S. government’s sovereignty over Indian law and land based on the “doctrine of discovery,” or European colonization of the New World -
Population - 12.9 million
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Indian Removal Act
President Andrew Jackson orders all Native Americans west of the Mississippi.
Immigration History -
Period: to
21-Years Before Naturalization
The Nativists and Whigs gained political power and were able to sway Congress to pass a nation native-American convention where 21-years of residence was required for Naturalization. This kept Native-Americans from holding office, restricted immigration, and educational reforms.
ProCon -
New York V. Miln
Decided by the Supreme Court that it was lawful of the states to ban those who were seen as paupers, vagabonds, convicts, or infectious articles.
ProCon -
Trail of Tears
4,000 Cherokee Indians die as they are forced to walk thousands of miles to a new territory.
Library of Congress -
Naturalizations of Germans and Irish
Naturalizations of Germans and Irish Are Expedited and Offered Free of Charge During Election Time
ProCon -
Potato Famine
1 million Irish people die due to a potato crop failure. Over the next five-years, 500,000 Irish immigrants would come to the U.S.
When Europe sees a similar fate, they too would have tens of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. -
Oregon Treaty
President James K. Polk signed the treaty with Great Britain, gaining territory in the northwest that would become the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming and Montana. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
A treaty that ended the Mexican-American War that formalized the boundaries of Mexico and the U.S.
The U.S. aquired 55% of Mexican territory. Many of the Mexican Americans in the annexed area would chose to stay and would later be driven towards the boarder.
Immigration History -
Know-Nothing Party Forms
The first anti-immigration forms in response to the amount of Germans and Irish immigration to the U.S. -
Period: to
Mexican-United States Boundary Commission
After the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Mexican - US Boundary Commission surveyed and marked the boundaries between the countries from the Pacific Ocean to New Mexico and Arizona. By 1855, obelisks monuments seperated the two countries.
Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences -
Passanger Cases
Supreme Court rules that they can enforce immigration laws over those of State Laws.
Immigration History -
Compromise of 1850 & Fugitive Slave Act
Any runaway African American slaves are to be returned to their owner and denied a right to a jury trial.
Library of Congress -
People V. Hall
California ruling that established that Chinese had no rights to testify alongside the Native and African Americans.
Immigration History -
Castle Garden Immigration Depot Opens
Castle Garden (1855-1890) opens as an immigration depot. Would assist with 8 million immigrants in 34 years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Dred Scott V. Sanford
Case that established that African Americans were not citizens of the U.S. so could not have rights or sue someone in a Federal court.
Immigration History -
Period: to
Polish Immigration
Two million poles would come to the U.S due to religious and economic conditions.
Library of Congress -
Homestead Act
Lands to the west were offered at the cost of $1.25 per acre, or less to encourage Westward migration.
This not only grew attention in the colonies but in Europe as thousands of people migrated to the western lands.
ProCon -
Act to Prohibit the "Coolie Trade"
Lincolns Act to prevent Southern Plantation owners from simply replacing their lost laborers (African Americans) with Chinese immigrants known as "coolie" laborers.
Immigration History -
Chinese & Irish to Build Transcontinental Railroad
Central Pacific hires Chinese and the Union Pacific hires Irish laborers to construct the transcontinental railroad from San Francisco to Omaha. Began construction in 1863 and finished May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit.
ProCon -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln's executive order that freed African Americans in Confederate States.
Immigration History -
The Long Walk
Native Americans are forced to walk 300 miles to Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Library of Congress -
Act to Encourage Immigration
Contract Labor Act or the Immigration Act of 1864.
Legalization of recruitment that mirrored indentured servitute in order to encourage immigration due to laborer shortages.
Was quickly repealed.
Immigration History -
Abolition of Slavery in America
The 13th amendment is added to the constitution. -
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Established
Maintained white supremacy through intimidation and violence -
Purchase of the Alaska Territory
Purchase of the Alaska Territory from Russia. -
Burlingame-Seward Treaty
Allowed for free migration of Chinese and Americans in order to construct the Transcontinental Railroad.
This was an international agreement.
Immigration History -
Expedited Naturalizations before Elections
20,000 to 30,000 Expedited Naturalizations before Elections in New York City
ProCon -
Hawaiian Sugar Cane Brings Japanese
Japanese laborers work the sugar cane fields in Hawaii. -
14th Amendment
Secured birthright citizenship to any person born in the United States, including African Americans. Meant to give equal treatment after the Civil War.
Immigration History -
Naturalization Act
Aliens of African decent are now given naturalization rights. All other ethnic immigrants do not have these rights.
ProCon -
Period: to
Gold Rush
138,941 Chinese immigrants came to the United States to the "Gold Mountain". Not all stayed in California as only 105,000 Chinese immigrants remained by 1880. The Burlingame Treaty allowed for this.
ProCon -
Period: to
Chinese Educational Mission
About 120 Chinese students were sent to the U.S. to learn in a New England school of "international education" meant to improve relationships and promote "the sharing of knowledge."
Immigration History -
Henderson V. Mayor of New York
State laws on immigration was found to be unconstitutional and private, philanthropic organizations would be used in place of state immigration commissions and ports.
ProCon -
Page Act of 1875
Also known as the Page Law.
Chinese prohibition of recruitment of unfree laborers and woman for "immoral purposes."
Toughens the penalties associated with transporting Asians illegally into the U.S.
Immigration History
ProCon -
Chy Lung V. Freeman
State immigration becomes illegal. Supreme Court rules only the federal government can regulate immigration.
Immigration History -
Italian Immigration
Nearly 4 million Italian immigrants come to the U.S. due to crop failures, political climate, and the economy.
Library of Congress -
Angell Treaty of 1880
Burlingame Treaty Is revised; Chinese Immigration Is suspended for some categories of Chinese workers.
Immigration Policy is close to the exclusion of Chinese immigration.
Burlingame Treaty Is Revised; Chinese Immigration Is Suspended -
Anti-Chinese Riots Spread
Anti-Chinese Riots Spread over the Northwestern States; Oregon's Constitution Prevents Chinese from Owning Land.
ProCon -
First "Great Wave" of European Immigrants
First "Great Wave" of European Immigrants to the United States despite the one-million immigrants prior to the 1850's.
560,000 immigrants would come each year until 1924 totaling about 25 million immigrants to the US many of them Jews from Russia and Prussia and Italians.
ProCon -
Assassination of Czar Alexander II
Russians immigrate to the U.S. after the death of the Czar creates civil unrest and economic instability.
Library of Congress -
Russians May Laws
Russians, seeking work, immigrate to the U.S.
Over 3 million Russians immigrate in three decades.
Library of Congress -
Period: to
Immigration and Chinese Exclusion Acts
Aka “An Act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese”
Both Acts were meant to further restrict unwanted immigration into the country due to race and those they deemed were "convicts, lunatics, and those likely to become a public charge."
These Acts were mainly meant to restrict Chinese immigration.
In 1943, Congress would change Chinese immigration laws to reflect those of European countries.
Immigration History -
Elk v. Wilkins
14th Amendment does not apply to Native Americans because they are not citizens upon birth and do not have a right to vote.
Immigration History -
Foran Act
AKA Alien Contract Labor Law
Law that banned the recruitment of bound contract workers.
Banned labor in response to strikes and exempted those who had needed skilled labor for trades, industry, actors, artists, and lecturers.
ProCon -
Statue of Liberty Unveiled
Statue of Liberty Unveiled; "The Huddled Masses Yearning To Be Free" Invited to Immigrate
ProCon -
Dawes Allotment Act
Any tribe that complained about being on the centralized government reservations were allowed an allotment of land and gain citizenship. Often they lost their land.
Immigration History -
Scott Act
Chinese exclusion law that removed their abilities to return as a laborer, leaving 20,000 Chinese with Certificates of Return outside of the U.S.
Immigration History -
Chae Chan Ping V. United States
AKA the Chinese Exclusion Case.
The U.S. federal government has plenary powers over immigration even if earlier immigration laws had updated policies or practices.
https://immigrationhistory.org/timeline/ -
Wounded Knee
A group of soldiers opened fire on a group of Sioux at the Pine Ridge reservation in Wounded Knee Creek killing 153 Indian men, women and children. -
1891 Immigration Act
First immigration law that gave immigration law solely to the federal government.
Allowed for immigration inspections and included a list of who was allowed and who were deportable immigrants. Bared polygamists, convicts of undesirable crimes, and the sick.
https://immigrationhistory.org/timeline/ -
Bureau of Immigration Founded
Independent bureau that could track and enforce immigration and the laws surrounding them.
ProCon -
Period: to
International Boundary Commission
Commission resurveyed and remarked the Mexican/US boundary. Monuments went from 52 to 258 during this time.
Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences -
Ellis Island Opens
Ellis Island Opens as Immigrant Entry Checkpoint. During its business, it would process 12 million immigrants until 1954.
ProCon -
Geary Act
A renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Laws that now required Chinese to carry of Certificate or Residence to prove their lawful immigration status or be detrained or deported.
https://immigrationhistory.org/timeline/ -
Illegal Immigrant Detention
Congress passed the first law requiring the detention of any person not entitled to admission -
Immigration Restriction League
3 Harvard graduates established the leagues due to the increased immigration from European countries.
Immigration History -
Wong Wing v. U.S & Plessy v. Ferguson
Wong Wing v. United States and Plessy v. Ferguson cases established that immigration authorities had legal authority to detail immigrants due to their "lesser rights" and equal protection did not adhere to those who are "separate but equal."
Immigration History -
Annexation of Hawaii
US annexes Hawaii. -
Acquisition of Puerto Rico and Guam
A four month conflict with Cuba ends with the U.S acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba following the Spanish-American War. -
United States V. Wong Kim Ark
Anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen at birth regardless of race or parents immigration status.
Immigration History -
Organic Act of 1900
Allowed those born in Hawaii before 1898 annexation to become a citizen including Chinese and Japanese.
ProCon -
Jones Act
Congress establishes a civil government in Puerto Rico and grants US citizenship to inhabitants who can travel without passports.
Library of Congress -
Population 76.2 Million
The 1900 census shows a total population of 76.2 million; 10.3 million, or 13.6 percent, were foreign-born, mostly from Germany, Ireland, Canada, Britain, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Poland, Norway, and Austria. -
Anarchist Exclusion Act
Anarchists are now excluded and can be deported if detained after entry.
Immigration History -
Niagara Movement
Fight for school integration, voting rights, and assist African American political candidates, forerunner of the NAACP -
Anti-American Boycott
A Chinese boycott of American-made goods and services in China to protest the Chinese Exclusion laws in the U.S.
Immigration History -
-
Expatriation Act
Women now claim the same citizenship as their husbands. Stripped citizenship of U.S. born women who were married to immigrants.
Immigration History -
Period: to
Gentleman's Agreement
President Roosevelt works with Japan to create a restriction on immigration to the U.S. by the Japanese's government. Agreement ended the segregation of Japanese students from whites in San Francisco.
Allowed Japanese "Picture Brides" to Immigrate.
Immigration History
ProCon -
The Melting Pot Play Opens on Broadway
Created the "American" way as the play depicted that all were welcome.
ProCon -
Angel Island Opens
Angel Island Immigration Station Opens to control the flow of Chinese into the country. By 1920, a reported 6-19,000 picture brides would immigrate through "the guardian of the Western Gate."
Angel Island would close by 1940 due to a fire.
ProCon -
Period: to
The Mexican Revolution
Thousands of Mexican refugees seek refugee in the U.S. due to the violence and political unrest caused by the Mexican Revolution. Most refugee would be granted permanent resides under humane considerations.
ProCon -
First Mexican-United States Boarder Fence
The Bureau of Animal Industry built the first fence in order to prevent Mexican cattle from spreading cattle tick disease.
Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences -
Dillingham Commission Report
A 41-volume study on the causes and impacts of immigration. Recommends Limiting Admission of Immigrants Based on "Economic or Business Considerations"
Immigration History -
"Mounted Inspectors" Introduced
US Congress Authorizes "Mounted Inspectors" Along the US-Mexico Border who had been there since 1904. This allowed for more regulated patrols of the 75 boarder patrol guards. They were largely looking for Chinese trying to cross the boarder illegally.
ProCon -
Immigration Act of 1917
Xenophobia is at a high. New measures are put into place to halt immigration from most Asian countries. Except in matters regrading religious persecution, all immigrants 16 years or older needed to prove they could read to immigrate into the U.S.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
WWI and Anti-German Sentiment
The U.S. enters World War I and names of schools, foods, streets, towns, and some names are changed to sound less Germanic.
Library of Congress -
Barred Zone Act
1917 Immigration Act not only banned those from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, but also introduced a literacy test to reduce European immigration.
Immigration History -
Jones-Shafroth Act
The Act that gave U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans who lived on the island that had been incorporated territory since 1898.
Immigration History -
Period: to
Wartime Measure & Palmer Raids
Act that gave the executive branch more power over immigration.
Both targeted anarchists and left-wing radicals that included arrests and deportations of those suspected.
Immigration History -
Womens Right to Vote
Added in the 19th amendment of the constitution. -
17,300 Illegal Chinese Immigrants
Estimated 17,300 Chinese Entered the United States Illegally since the Passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act thru Mexico and Canada.
ProCon -
Emergency Quota Act
Due to WWI, congress capped immigration due to "emergency measures" brought on by the fear of mas immigration.
Immigration History -
Cable Act of 1922
After the 19th amendment in 1920, which gave women their rights, congress passed the Cable Act in 1922 to give women back their citizenship status' they had lost through the Expatriation Act of 1907. -
Ozawa v. US Supreme Court
Reconfirmed the 1790's Nationalities Act that Asians were not "white" even if they could integrate and acculturate.
Immigration History -
United States v. Thind
Thind was found to be ineligible for citizenship as an Asian Indian due to being racially white.
Immigration History -
Immigration Board of Review
Meant to examine deportation appeals.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Labor Appropriation Act
Funded the Border Patrol to help regulate the border and immigration stations.
Immigration History -
Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
AKA the National Origins Act
Established "national origins" quotas that would continue to discriminate against immigrants origins until 1965.
Immigration History -
Indian Citizenship Act
Marking the last main group to gain rights under the 14th amendment, Native Americans born in the US are citizens.
Immigration History -
1,000,000 Illegal Mexican Immigrants
US Labor Secretary Estimates That over 1,000,000 Mexicans Are in United States Illegally across the U.S.
ProCon -
Convict Leasing System Ends
Alabama being the last state to outlaw it. -
Blease's Law
AKA the Undesirable Aliens Act of 1929.
A law that established that crossing the border outside of the Port of Entry was a misdemeanor crime and returning after a deportation a felony offense.
Immigration History -
Period: to
Mexican “Repatriation Act”
Border Patrols campaign to capture and dispel of Mexicans in the U.S. despite citizenship status.
Immigration History -
1933 Executive Order
In 1933, an Executive Order merged the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization into the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) with the Department of Labor. -
Period: to
World War II
Due to the persecution of Jews and other minorities, WWII and the Holocaust created an international refugee crisis. There were too many refugees trying to escape the Nazis that many nations could assist or accept into their population.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Smith Act
AKA Alien Registration Act
Congress declares that acts to advocate, abet, or overthrow the government is illegal. All alien residences over 14 are required to give a comprehensive statement on their status and political beliefs.
4,741,971 aliens would register within 4 months.
ProCon -
Nationality Act
Unifies Nationality and Naturalization Laws
ProCon -
Pearl Harbor Bombing
The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii galvanizing war efforts. 1,000 Japanese-Americans are incarcerated.
Library of Congress -
Period: to
Bracero Agreement
AKA the Mexican Labor Program
During WWII, negotiations were made with the Mexican government to send male workers to the without their families to work in war industries.
5,000,000 laborers would be brought in to work.
Immigration History
ProCon -
Period: to
900 Native Alaskans to Internment Camps
Due to Japanese aggression, 881 Unangax were evacuated, their homes burned, to live in transport ships.
ProCon -
Period: to
Executive Order 9066
President Roosevelt authorized the incarcerated of Japanese Americans living within 100 miles of the West Coast.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford Repeals Executive Order 9066 Proclaiming WWII Japanese Relocation a "National Mistake"
ProCon -
Magnuson Immigration Act of 1943
Chinese Exclusion Laws are finally abolished and Chinese can become U.S. citizens. Annual quota of Chinese immigrants is still limited to 105 despite the Chinese help during WWII.
ProCon -
Ex Parte Endo
The end of Japanese American incarceration as citizens could not be held.
The University of Texas at Austin -
US Bombs Japan
U.S. drops two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Public Law 271 & 471wa
Allow an Estimated 1,000,000 American Soldiers to Bring Their Foreign Spouses to America from 50 different countries.
Fiancées were limited to 3 month visas. If the couple did not wed in this time, the fiancées were deported.
AKA War Brides and Fiancées Acts
Immigration History
ProCon -
Presidential Directive on Displaced Persons
Under President Trumans directive, over 40,000 displaced persons and refuges received admission into the U.S. through collaboration with the U.S. military, Public Health Service, the Department of State, and charitable organizations.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Fullbright-Hayes Act
Senator Fullbright suggested selling surplus war supplies and using the proceeds to improve mutual understanding through personnel exchanges and international education.
The University of Texas at Austin -
Luce-Celler Act
Asian Exclusion Repeal Act Gives Naturalization Rights to Filipinos and Indians
Immigration History -
Displaced Persons Act
After WWII, the US finally allowed refugees from Europe and gave them asylum.
The University of Texas at Austin -
H-2 Guestworker Visa Program
INA of 1952 gave a nonimmigration visa category known as H-2 to foreign farmworkers on a temporary basis.
The University of Texas at Austin -
McCarran-Walter Immigration Act
AKA The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
All immigration and nationality laws are under the same statute for the first time. Despite Trumans veto, Congress was able to maintain the quota system but failed to add refugees into the INA.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Refugee Relief Act
Authorized 200,000 non-quota immigrant visas for people leaving communist countries. -
Operation Wetback
An estimated 3 million illegal mexican immigrants are working in agricultural jobs. Eisenhower enacts a nationwide sweep to removed the undocumented immigrants.
Council on Foreign Relations -
Ellis Island Closes
The last detainee would be processed November of 1954. Ellis Island would later be declared as a National Monument in 1965.
ProCon -
Border Patrol Canine Program
The U.S. Border Patrol Canine Program is established with surplus military dogs. -
Period: to
Hungarian Escapee Program
After the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, thousands of Hungarians fled to Australia who asked for assistance from other nations due to the huge immigration numbers.
The U.S. took in 6,130 refugees and an additional 38,000 Hungarians entered under the parole authority. Two-years later, all parolees were given permanent residential status.
U.S. admitted over 3 million refugees during the Cold War. -
Period: to
Chinese Confession Program
The FBI tried to regularize the statuses of Chinese-Americans who had entered the U.S. using immigration fraud under the Chinese exclusion law.
The University of Texas at Austin -
Azorean Refugee Act
After an earthquake and volcanic eruption on the Island of Fayal in 1957, 2,000 special non-quota immigration visas were issued to assist. This is the first time Congress passed an act to help refugees after a natural disaster.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Period: to
Cuban Refugees
After the Cuban Revolution, thousands of refugees rushed to the U.S. By 1961, The U.S. would break there diplomatic relationship with Cuba and would continue to admit 58,000 Cubans under the attorney generals parole authority.
Almost 200,000 total Cuban refugees would come to the U.S. during these 3 years.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Period: to
Fair Share Refugee Act & World Refugee Year
Due to the global refugee crisis, the United Nation declared 1959-1960 as World Refugee Year.
Congress would then pass the Fair Share Refugee Act and allow an additional 5,000 refuges to enter the U.S. and gave them citizenship after two years. Close to 20,000 total refugees were parolees during this time.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Population 179.3 Million
The 1960 census records a total population of 179.3 million; 9.7 million, or 5.4 percent, were foreign-born, led by Italy, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Soviet Union, Mexico, Ireland, Austria, and Hungary. -
Period: to
Operation Peter Pan
14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children are sent to the U.S. as part of a secret, anti-communist program. -
Act of September 26, 1961
Allowed for immigration due to international adoption to be included as part of family reunification.
The University of Texas at Austin -
Hong Kong Parole Program
Under the Attorney Generals parole authority, 15,000 Chinese refugees left Hong Kong under this program to flee communist China. Three-years later, they could become citizens. -
Migration & Refugee Assistance Act
Congress to provide monetary assistance for Cold Ware communist refugees.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
-
Hart-Celler Immigration and Nationality Act
Hart-Celler Immigration and Nationality Act Ends the national quota system which favored certain racial and ethnic groups. The quats is replaced with a 7-category preference system opting for family reunification and skilled laborer.
Over the next 5 years, Chinese immigration would quadruple.
ProCon -
Voting Rights Act
Nullifies local laws and practices that prevent minorities from voting. -
1965 Amendments to the INA
Revised the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the quota system and new conditions. Allowed refugee for natural disasters and those who had escaped communist It established which refugees could receive permanent residential status after two-years.
Between 10,000-17,400 refugees became citizens
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Period: to
Cuban Airlift
President Johnson authorizes any Cuban who wished to flee their communist regime entry into the U.S.
In order to make this happen, refugees were screened in Cuba and over 3,000 flights took place that brought 250,000 Cuban Refugees to the U.S. -
Cuban Adjustment Act
Due to the influx of Cuban refugees under the airlift program, this Act established that the refugees could become residents after two-years.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Armed Forces Naturalization Act
Armed Forces Naturalization Act Allows Veterans Who Served Active-Duty to Become Naturalized Citizens
ProCon -
INS Asylum Policies
Aliens already in the U.S. could be granted asylum to ensure that they were not returned and persecuted. Paroles, stays, and adjustments in status allowed this to occur.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Indochina Migration and Refugee Act
Admits Displaced Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians after the Vietnam War.
300,000 Asian immigrants enter the U.S. as parolees and are later granted citizenship.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
INS Office of Refugee and Parole
INS establishes the Office of Refugee and Parole to help with the global refugee crisis and administer policies.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Iranian Revolution
330,000 Iranians came to the US as asylum seekers and political refugees. -
2-4 Million Illegal Immigrants
Over half of the immigrants were from Mexico with most of them arriving after 1960.
ProCon -
Refugee Act of 1980
Refugee Act of 1980 Allows Persecuted Individuals to Seek Asylum in United States.
Main goal was to follow international compliance with laws around the Status of Refugees.
ProCon -
Mariel Boatlift
125,000 Cubans came to the U.S. aboard boats from the Port of Mariel. The Cubans were not given refugee status and were parolees instead. Some Cubans were sent to long-term detention centers as they were deemed to be criminals.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Haiti Anti-Immigration Agreement
The U.S. agreed to interdict Haitian boats with prospective Haiti immigrants and return them.
3,107 are returned by 1984.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
"War on Drugs"
President Ronald Reagan announces a new detention policy that would pave the way for the increased militarization of border enforcement and conflation of drug and immigration enforcement through interdiction programs. -
Amerasian Immigration Act
Gave top priority of immigration to children who had been fathered by American Troops in Vietnam, Korea, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
ProCon -
Plyler v. Doe
Texas aimed to remove the children of illegal aliens from their schools. The Court justified that they are people and should be allowed so vetoed the Texas education law.
ProCon -
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
Those who had come to the U.S. prior to 1982 and had been lawful immigrants could be granted legal alien status.
ProCon -
Amerasian Homecoming Act
Tens of thousands of children fathered in Vietnam are allowed to immigrate to the U.S.
ProCon -
Civil Liberties Act
Provided compensation to Japanese-Americans who had survived the WWII internment camps with a Presidential apology.
Library of Congress -
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act
Required the mandatory detention of all non-citizens who had committed an “aggravated felony,” beginning a new era of mandatory immigration detention. -
Immigration Act of 1990
Increased immigration limits, revised grounds for exclusion and deportation, and gave temporary protected status to those from certain countries. Also established nonimmigration categories and extended the VISA Waiver Program.
ProCon -
Lautenberg Amendment
Removed some of the evidentiary burden to proven refugee status for certain people like Jews and Soviet Union Christians.
This Amendment has to be extended through legislation each year.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
American Baptist Churches Settlement Agreement
Reestablished how to hand cases such as Salvadorans and Guatemalans who had attempted to seek asylum in the 1980's due to violence.
The University of Texas at Austin -
First INS Asylum Offices Opened
Lost Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Newask, Arlington, Miami, and Houston would open INS Asylum Offices which would see over 100,000 people file for asylum over the next year.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act
Public Law 102-110
Gives those who served or will serve 12 years in the military, and their families, citizenship.
ProCon -
Chinese Student Protection Act
Gave Chinese students living in the U.S. permanent status due to Chinese protests in Tiananmen in 1989. -
3.4 million Illegal Immigrants
First Detailed National Count of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Estimates 3.4 Million Immigrants in United States Illegally.
ProCon -
Operation Gatekeeper in 1994
To stop illegal immigration between San Diego and Tijuana, a 14 mile security fence is built to force immigration into mountains and deserts. Human rights group blame this operation for the death of 5,000 immigrants.
Council on Foreign Relations -
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act
"Title IV addresses immigration-related terrorism issues. It establishes or adjusts mechanisms to bar alien terrorists from the U.S., to remove from the U.S. any who are here, to narrow asylum provisions which allow terrorists to frustrate efforts to bar or remove them, and to expedite deportation of criminal aliens."
ProCon -
Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
Changes the public welfare system to immigrations to one where they have to be here for 5 years and then would be required to work in order to get limited assistance.
Government states the sponsors should be more responsible for them rather than relying on the government.
ProCon -
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
300,000 Central Americans become legal residence due to a Congressional revision of the INA that would have meant expulsion otherwise.
ProCon -
The Flores Settlement
After the 1993 Supreme Court case Reno v. Flores, the treatment and release of unaccompanied minors in detention had to create new standards. -
Nicaraguan Adjustment & Central American Relief Act
NACARA is established to give Nicaraguans and Cubans living on US soil permanent resident status under certain requirements. It also cancelled deportations to Guatemala, El Salvador, and former Soviet bloc countries.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act
Gave Haitians the same rights as granted to the Nicaraguans in 1997.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services -
Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE)
Section 245(i) of the Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act Grants Legalization to Qualifying Immigrants in the US Illegally after they pay a $1,000 fine.
ProCon -
AFL-CIO Labor Union Amnesty
AFL-CIO Labor Union Supports Amnesty for Immigrants in the United States Illegally.
Allowed millions of undocumented workers to adjust their status to permanent residents and become eligible for naturalization.
ProCon -
Bring Them Home Alive Act
Refugee status is granted to anyone who lived in the former Soviet Union who delivered a U.S. POW or MIA along with their family who is also required to live in that area.
ProCon -
DREAM Act
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act allowed 2.1 million illegal minors to remain as long as they graduated from high school or served two years in the military.
Council on Foreign Relations -
Zadvydas v. Davis
Ruled that immigrants could not be detained and ordered to deport if they had no destination.
The University of Texas at Austin -
USA PATRIOT Act
the USA PATRIOT Act to expand surveillance capacities and heightens its targeting of Arab and Muslim immigrants for detention. -
September 11
Hijackers fly passenger airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A "war on terrorism" is declared. -
Homeland Security Act
Dissolved the Immigration and Naturalization Service and created the Department of Homeland Security.
Council on Foreign Relations -
"Minuteman Project"
Civilians took border patrol into their own hands in Arizona. They were not sponsored by the government and were seen as vigilantes.
ProCon -
REAL ID Act
Expands Laws for Asylum and Deportation of Foreigners for Terrorist Activity -
Secure Fence Act
Authorizes Fencing along the US-Mexican Border -
11.8 Million Illegal Immigrants
11.8 Million Unauthorized Immigrants in US with 59% from Mexico -
Arizona Bill (SB 1070)
Arizona Bill (SB 1070) Signed into Law
Expanding the State's Authority to Combat Illegal Immigration -
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
President Obama Signs Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to Allow Some Undocumented Immigrants Who Came to the United States as Children to Stay in the Country. Ends 2017 -
Executive Action
Executive Action to Prevent Deportation of Millions of Immigrants in the United States Illegally -
New Travel Restrictions
Executive Order to prevent terrorism that suspended the refugee program for 120 days and bans Syrian refugees indefinitely. Decreases refugee admissions to 50,000 and bans Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen citizens from traveling in the U.S. for 90 days.
Council on Foreign Relations -
Census to Count All Residents, Including Undocumented Immigrants
