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U.S. Constitution Ratified
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Period: to
Chronological Timeline of Immigration of the United States
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"Good Moral Character"
Naturalization Act of 1790 was the first set of legislation to define the terms of citizenship, granting citizenship to those who were "free white persons" of "good moral character" -
Civil War is declared over
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The Fourteenth Amendment
Under the Citizenship Clause, granted citizenship to people born within the U.S. regardless of their parents’ race, citizenship, or place of birth, but it excluded Indians (those living on reservations). -
Naturalization Act of 1870
Extended the naturalization laws to include "aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent" -
Immigration is a Federal Responsibilty
After the Civil War, states began to enact their own immigration laws, until in 1875 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that immigration fell under the responsibility of the federal government. -
Ellis Island
The first Immigration Station was officially opened to immigrants in January of 1892. One the first day of its opening there were 700 immigrants, and approximately 450,000 immigrants seen in the first year. -
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
This was a U.S. Supreme Court decision granting citizenship to an American-born child of Chinese parents -
Immigration Act of 1917
Also referred to as the "Asiatic Barred Zone Act", which barred immigration of persons from this region, which included much of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Additionally, "this act added to the number of undesirables banned from entering the country, including but not limited to “homosexuals”, “idiots”, "criminals", “epileptics”, alcoholics, “professional beggars”, all persons “mentally or physically defective”, polygamists, and anarchists". Moreover it instituted a head tax for each immigrant. -
Immigration Quota Act
Aka: Emergency Immigration Act, Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, the added numerical limits on immigration from Europe, being only "3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910", which highly favored people of Northern European descent. -
Immigration Act of 1924
Aka: National Origins Act and Asian Exclusion Act “limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States”. Additionally, this at was put into place, "According to the U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian the purpose of the act was '"to preserve the ideal of American homogeneity"'. -
Border Patrol Founded
The Border Patrol was founded on this day as an agency of the United States Department of Labor to prevent illegal entries along the Mexico-United States and United States-Canadian borders -
INS - Immigration and Naturalization Service Founded
INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) protected and enforced the laws of naturalization, the process by which a foreign-born person becomes a citizen. The INS also tackled illegal entrance into the United States, preventing receipt of benefits such as social security or unemployment by those ineligible to receive them, and investigated, detained, and deported those illegally living in the United States. -
World War Two Ends
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Luce-Celler Act
"The act provided a quota of 100 Filipinos, and 100 Indians to immigrate into the United States per year. The act also allowed Filipino Americans and Indian Americans to naturalize and become United States Citizens. Upon becoming citizens, these new Americans could own homes and farmland, and petition for family from their nation of birth." -
Immigration and Naturalization Act
Aka: McCarran–Walter Act, this act moved away from excluding immigrants due to country of origin and moved to regulations for denied citizenship based on criminal record, moral behavior, physical health, and political ideologies. Additionally, those willing to assimilate into the U.S. economic, social, and political structures where more likely to be granted citizenship. This act was a consequence of WWII and the Cold War, resulting in mounting fears of internal take over. -
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
This act "abolished the national origins quota system, replacing it with preferences system that focused on immigrants’ skills and family relationships with citizens or U.S. residents" -
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
"The law criminalized the act of knowingly hiring an illegal aliens and established financial and other penalties for those employing illegal immigrants under the theory that low prospects for employment would reduce undocumented immigration. It introduced the I-9 form to ensure that all employees presented documentary proof of their legal eligibility to accept employment in the United States." Also granted amnesty to approx. 3 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S. -
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)
Created strict guidelines for deportation of illegal immigrants in the country. -
DREAM Act Introduced
On this date the DREAM Act was first proposed in front of the U.S. Senate, but did not get voted on. It is still being pursued. -
9/11 Attacks
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Formed
After the 9/11 Attacks, President George W. Bush decided to create the DHS to oversee such issues as immigration. -
INS is absorbed by DHS
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Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act,
This act was never passed into law however it is important to consider when discussing the history of immigration laws in this country. The act "incorporated legalization, guest worker programs, and border enforcement components. Later versions Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 & 2007". This law was written by Sen. John McCain and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy -
Border Protection, Anti-terrorism and illegal Immigration Control Act
This act is another example of one that has been pushed before Congress but has not passed. It includes several parts. For example, requiring a fence to be built on the border, prohibiting aid to illegals, puts more emphasis on the DHS operations in taking custody of illegal immigrants who have been detained by local authorities. "The bill was the catalyst for the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests and was the first piece of legislation passed by a house of Congress in the United States" -
2006 United States immigration reform protests
"In 2006, millions of people participated in protests over a proposed change to U.S. immigration policy...in response to proposed legislation known as H.R. 4437, which would raise penalties for Illegal immigration and classify undocumented immigrants and anyone who helped them enter or remain in the US as felons. As part of the wider immigration debate, most of the protests not only sought a rejection of this bill, but also a comprehensive reform of the country's immigration laws" -
REAL ID Act
This bill was signed on May 11, 2005 but was not effective until 2 years later. This bill instituted by the DHS, establishing Federal standards for issuing State Driver’s licenses or ID cards/ waiving laws that interfere with construction of border barriers/ introducing stricter laws governing applications fro asylum and deportation of aliens for terrorist activity -
Arizona Senate Bill 1070
Aka: Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, was put into effect. This law "requires all aliens over the age of 14 who remain in the United States for longer than 30 days to register with the U.S. government, and to have registration documents in their possession at all times; violation of this requirement is a federal misdemeanor crime. Additionally, makes it a state misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required document" -
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
This is a memorandum that was issued by President Obama, which grants deferred action for those here illegally as to not to be deported based on immigration status of those who came to this country as a minor.
