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Civil War and the Hierarchy of Races
Blacks had no power and were only valuable as slave workers.
Indians (Native Americans) were slightly above blacks, but still undeserving of the land they possessed.
Hispanics and other ethnicities were smarter and more productive.
Purely white Americans were considered better than everyone. -
Supreme Court - Page Act
The Page Act was a ruling from the Supreme Court that gave the Federal Governemtn power to limit immigration. page act information -
The "Great Wave"
Starting in 1900, a huge wave of immigrants entered the United States, nearly 24 million people. This wave lessened with the beginning of World War I, because fewer people were able to leave Europe. -
Creation of Bureau of Immigration
At this time the Bureau of Immigration was expanded and became the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. The Bureau was incharge of dealing with all issues pertaining to the naturalization of aliens including creating the procedures to be followed to become an American citizen. -
Mounted Inspectors
Mounted Inspectors were a group of border patrolers established in assist and increase the effort of the previously established Mounted Gaurds. Because these men were also assigned to work inspection stations, their gaurd work was inconsistent. -
U.S. Border Patrol
The United States organized the Border Patrol to secure and defend the border inbetween inspection points. Men were recruited from the Texas Rangers as well as local police forces. -
1,000,000 Illegal Mexicans
As of June 1927, there were an estimated one million illegal Mexican immigrant in the United States. This estimate was based on the Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration of the United States Department of Labor. -
Displaced Persons Act
The Displaced Persons Act allowed 200,000 people to immigrate to the United States. These were people who had been displaced or uprooted during World War II. -
Bracero Program Ends
The Bracero Program was a series of laws and diplomatic agreements that allowed some Mexican laborers temporary access to the U.S. In 1964 this program was ended by U.S. officals because of the numerous illegal immigrants that continued to enter from Mexico. -
Refugee Act
The Refugee Act of 1980 established a definition for the term "refugee" and made allowances for those escaping persecution to seek asylum in the U.S. -
Estimated 3.4 million Illegal Immigrants in U.S.
In 1994 the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service created and implemented the first nations estimation of unauthorized immigrant populations. According to their findings there were 3.4 million illegal immigrants in the United States at this time. -
Expand Military Border Support
After the events of 9/11, the U.S. Department of Defense increased the involvment of military forces along the borders. Their involvment included counter-drug and counter-terrorism efforts. -
"Minuteman Project"
In 2004 a group of civilians organized themselves into a group called the Minutemen. These volunteers guarded a 23-miles stretch of the border for the month of October. They referred to their efforts as, "a peaceful protest over the government’s failure to secure its borders". The group was met with great controversy from the American Civil Liberties Union. -
Secure Fence Act
The Secure Fence Act authorized the construction of hundreds of miles of fencing along the Southern border of the United States. It increased the personnel along the border, implemented the use of surveillance technology and called for the planning of improved border security. -
11.8 million Unauthorized Immigrants
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimated there to be 11.8 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. as of January 2007.This was 3.3 million MORE than in 2000. Of the 11.8 million immigrants,an estimated 59% were from Mexico. -
Illegal Workers
In 2007, Arizona Govenor signed a law that allowed the state to revoke licenses of businesses hiring undocumented immigrants. In 2011 the United States Supreme Court upheld this law with a 5-3 vote. -
DACA
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) act was signed by President Obama in 2012. The legislation allows some undocumented immigrants to remain in the country if they came here before the age of sixteen and meet certain requirments.
