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Quakers become illegal aliens
Beginning in 1656 records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and indeed of all of the New England Colonies, except Rhode Island, are filled with legislation designed to prevent the coming of the Quakers and the spread of their 'accursed tenets. -
Pennsylvania Enacts Oath of Allegiance for German Immigrants
Foreigners from Germany, who settled in Pennsylvania without any certificates demonstrating their identity, origin and intention must take an oath of allegiance. -
The Naturalization Act of 1790
Established a uniform rule of naturalization and a two-year residency requirement for aliens who are "free white persons" of "good moral character." -
First significant federal legislation on immigration.
Congress passed an act requiring shipmasters to deliver a manifest enumerating all aliens transported for immigration. The Secretary of State was required to report annually to Congress the number of immigrants admitted. -
The "Anti-Coolie" Act
Discouraged Chinese immigration to California and instituted special taxes on employers who hired Chinese workers. -
The Homestead Act
Provided free plots of up to 160 acres of western land to settlers who agreed to develop and live on it for at least five years, thereby spurring an influx of immigrants from overpopulated countries in Europe seeking land of their own. -
Transcontinental Railroad was built.
The railroad was built mostly by Irish and Chinese immigrants. -
The Fifteenth Amendment is ratified
Granted voting rights to citizens, regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -
The Naturalization Act of 1870
Expanded citizenship to both whites and African-Americans, though Asians were still excluded. -
Chinese Exclusion Act.
First federal immigration law suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years and barred Chinese in U.S. from citizenship. Also barred convicts, lunatics, and others unable to care for themselves from entering. Head tax placed on immigrants. -
The Immigration Act of 1882
levied a tax of 50 cents on all immigrants landing at US ports and makes several categories of immigrants ineligible for citizenship, including "lunatics" and people likely to become public charges. -
The Immigration Act of 1917
Restriced immigration from Asia by creating an "Asiatic Barred Zone." -
The Emergency Quota Act
Restricted immigration from a given country to 3% of the number of people from that country living in the US in 1910. -
The Border Patrol
Created to combat smuggling and illegal immigration. -
The National Origins Formula
Instituted a quota that caped national immigration at 150,000 and completely bared Asian immigration, though immigration from the Western Hemisphere was still permitted. -
Exclusion and deportation
The grounds for exclusion and deportation are expanded. All aliens required to report their addresses annually. (Year is accurate day and month are not.) -
Hart-Celler Act
Abolished national origins quotas, establishing separate ceilings for the eastern (170,000) and western (120,000) hemispheres (combined in 1978). -
Secure Fence Act
Authorized fencing along the US-Mexican Border -
SB1070
It is a state crime to be in the country illegally, and legal immigrants will be required to carry paperwork proving their status. Arizona police will generally be required to question anyone they 'reasonably suspect' of being undocumented -- a provision that critics argue will lead to widespread racial profiling, but that supporters insist will give authorities the flexibility to enforce existing immigration laws.
