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Chinese Exclusion Act
What happened here is very similar to what is happening now. I don't know if history repeats itself, or if the Chinese Exclusion Act helped set the standard that in America we only have to be fair towards others when it suites us. Also, Mexicans helped to fill the gap in workers that was left by the Chinese. Image source: http://images.nypl.org/index.php?id=833651&t=r -
Creation of the United States Border Control
This impacts the way people view immigration because of the idea that if we need to control the border, there must be something worth fearing on the other side. Image source: http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/files/entryimages/borderborder_1borderborder -
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Mexican Repatriation
The deportation of hundreds of thousands of Mexican immigrants would effect attitudes towards immigration today because it gives people the idea that we have the right to kick people out of our country whenever it becomes comvienent to us. -
Subversive Activities Control Act
I think this is important because the government openlly admitted and justified being afraid of outsiders, a fear that would easily have spread to the public. image source: http://www.heeve.com/images/communism.png -
"Operation Wetback"
I don't have an exact date for this one. I think the name says enough about how it would have helped impact public opinion towards immigrants. It is the earliest attempt that I know of to try and return illegal immigrants to Mexico. Image source:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-INL7Gm4Spow/TukKI1jQTJI/AAAAAAAAB68/8W4CNj5-lcI/s1600/wetback+38.jpg -
Immigration and Nationality Act
This act opened the doors for immigrants from South America by changing the way people were chosen to be able to come live in the United States. National origin quotas were removed. -
United States v. Brignoni-Ponce
This case made it so that it was a violation for a police officer solely because of the fact that they appeared to be Mexican, or of Mexican descent. I think this is interesting, considering what is currently happening with SB1070 Image source: http://americansforfreedom.org/sites/default/files/u11/h_4_ill_676197_usa-mexico-border-31.jpg -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
This law made it so that the general public was not allowed to make desicions regarding immigration. It because a crime to not report a person you knew to be here ilegally. -
Operation Gatekeeper
This doubled border patrol agents. In my opinion it was the beginning of the current push against immigration from Mexico. Image source: http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/borderwall/?p=411 -
California Proposition 187
This was the first time a state had passed it's own law on immigration. I think of it as kind of the same as the struggle the country is kind of having over marijuana. After one state had the nerve to make their own desicion on a controvercial subject, others built up the courage to do so as well. Proposition 187 made SB 1070 possible. Image source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qTvkNq5YBE4/TafoN3DZJcI/AAAAAAAAAC8/i-3TTi0F03k/s1600/antimexican+sentiment.gif -
No More Deaths begins leaving water in the desert
I wasn't sure of the date on this one. But I remember seeing this on the news when I was little, and think it's a good example of how attitudes toward immigration are slowly changing. Image source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DXTUKNiZxOg/TFMgmFJCwJI/AAAAAAAAADU/zU8GO0aJtSc/s1600/Tucson+No+More+Deaths+Camp+027.jpg -
The Secure Fence Act of 2006
Allowed the border wall to begin construction. -
Border shooting
I know this isn't a historical event. When you put together all of the deaths that have happened along the border though, they amount to something. The fact of the matter is that a lot of people lose their lives crossing the border. This effects the attitude towards immigration because it makes the whole thing messier than it needs to be, and everyone has an opinion on every single person who dies. -
Death of Robert Krentz
Robert Krentz was a rancher who was shot on his property around the same time SB 1070 was being talked about. There were footprints leading from his body to the Mexican border, so his death was blamed on someone from Mexico. His suspiciously timed death impacted views towards immigration by giving "evidence" to the public of the types of things people from Mexico might be willing to do to gain access to the United States. -
SB 1070
In my opinion, SB 1070 is a historical event that is still happening. It completely goes against the US VS Brignoni-Ponce trial from the 70's. I know that recently rules have been put in place to try and fight racial profiling. But I don't really think you can have the law without it, I think those "rules" are just to make people feel better about the fact that SB1070 ultimately makes it alright to judge people based on their race. Image source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eeLSRT4l2yo/T8kZ4NNBwOI
