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English settlers in America
Foreigners began to arrive in the colonies in high numbers. This marked the beginning of immigration to present day issues. -
African-American Slaves being imported
This was during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Africans were seen as slaves and not people, which relates to the issues of immigration. By loading the ships with the slaves and bringing them to the nation to become servants with no freedom. -
Irish immigration to U.S.
This was the century that millions of Irish immigrants came to the United States, Many Americans were provoked because they considered themselves to be natives and stated the irish were impacting their economy. They attacked the irish immigrants because of their religion. -
Chinese immigration and Gold Rush
When chinese immigratns came to the United States, there was an evident increase in the numbers of immigrants because of the gold rush. -
European immigrants to the U.S.
After the irish potato famine and gold rush, there was a huge immigration explosion. Between 1880 and 1924 there were over 560,000 immigrants a year. There was a large increase in Jewish immigrants to the United States and italians who were leaving their home due to economic or political issues. -
Ellis Island
Ellis Island opened up the first federal immigration station to the east. This was known as the doorway to the east, some were even deported if women were not accomponied by a man. -
Mexican revolution to U.S. - Mexican border
After the mining and inductry in northern Mexico many Mexicans began to cross over the country. World war 1 increased demand for Mexican labor as well. Due to the development in Mexico mexicans were losing their jobs and beginning to accumulate debt, which is what led to the increase of immigrants. -
US Border Patrol
On May 28, 1924 Congress passed the act of 1924 which officially established the U.S. Border patrol to secure the borders in between inspections. This process of Border Patrol agents can still be seen in today's issues that we face with immigration from the U.S.-Mexican Border -
The Bracero Program
This was one of the first guest worker programs for immigrants. It allowed temporary workers from mexico the work in the U.S. in order to fill the high demand that was in tact for labor. -
Eisenhower "Operation Wetback"
During the period after the postwat, undocumented mexicans begin crossing over the U.S.-Mexican border. They are working many jobs with lower wages than American citizens. President Eisenhower enacted a sweep of illegal immigratiants, known as "operation wetback". -
Amnesty Bill
President Ronald Reagan and Congress created a bill that was to sweep immigration. This bill created consequences and penalties to employers who were found hiring workers without any papers of citizenship. However, it also provided a citizenship path for about 3 millions immigrants which were already in the United States. This was Reagans support for immigration reform. -
Immigration Reform/Control Act
This policy entitled employers to check the immigration status of their emplyoees. This ensured that there would be no claims of hiring undocumented immigrants without knowing. This law also granted legality for immigrants who arrived in U.S. before 1982, which gave the opportunity for them to gain residency permenentely. -
Immigration Act 1990
George H. W. Bush expanded the immigration act of 1965 to increase the number of visas granted to illegal immigrants. The act created five groups of employment and set a capacity on the amount of unskilled workers coming into the country. Bush created a diveersity to distribute visas and the total number increased from 500,000 to 700,000. -
9/11 Terroist Attacks changes Immigration
After the terroist attacks on the twin towers, Congress created the Homeland Security Act. This act was made to take over all issues that were in relation to immigration in the U.S. George W. Bush was in office during this tragedy and began making border security a top priority. This made it easier to deport immigrants and find any suspicious terrorism. -
Arizona State Activism on Immigration
Arzona Governor, Jan Brewer signed the SB1070, which is a restricting law against immigration which made it illegal to hire, house, or transport immigrants. This law also allowed law enforcement to check the status of citizenship among people. -
DREAM Act
This bill provides children who were brought to the United States illegally an opportunity to become citizens. President Obama further enforced this bill by stating that immigration officials were not to deport any young people who qualified for the DREAM Act.
