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Wave of immigration from Great Britain, Germany, and Ireland
70% of Immigrants into the U.S. were from Great Britain, Germany, and Ireland between 1820 to 1880. The Irish were the first Roman Catholics to arrive in large numbers in what was largely a Protestant nation. -
NY's Mayor disapproves of new immigration wave
After the wave of immigrants in the 1820's, the mayor of NY looked upon the Irish and Germans as "filthy, intemperate, unused to the comforts of life and regardless of its prosperities". -
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200,000 Chinese people enter the U.S.
They were recruited for construction crews for the transcontinental railroad. -
Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment
This granted citizenship to anyone born in the United States, including African-Americans -
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Large percentage of Immigrants enter the U.S. between 1881 to 1920
Since 1820, 65 million Immigrants entered the U.S., and 40% are from 1881 to 1920. The majority of them came from southern and eastern Europe, especially from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
This prohibited Chinese workers from entering the U.S., further laws lead to complete suspension of Chinese Immigration, as well as prohibited those already here from sending for their wives. -
Statue of Liberty Built
334,000 Immigrants entered the United States in a surge of immigration that would transform American society and spark debate and American immigration polocy. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
The Immigration Reform and Control Act, enacted November 6, 1986, also known as the 1986 amnesty, allowed millions of unauthorized immigrants to apply for legal status. It also made it illegal for an employer to knowingly hire an unauthorized immigrant. Empowers deportation of those unfit to be citizens. -
National Origins Act of 1924
A law that severely restricted immigration by establishing a system of national quotas that blatantly discriminated against immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and virtually excluded Asians. The policy stayed in effect until the 1960s. -
Displaced Persons Act
The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 authorized for a limited period of time the admission into the United States of 200,000 certain European displaced persons for permanent residence. This was particularly intended to welcome refugees from the Cold War This happened during the Civil Rights Movement -
Large percentage of immigrants in the 1950's from Canada and Europe
Up to the 1950's, 68% of the immigrants entering the U.S. had come from Europe and Canada -
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Surge from Mexico and Canada
Around 4 million enter from Mexico and 500,000 from Canada. -
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act, bolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States. -
Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996
This act states that immigrants unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days but less than 365 days must remain outside the United States for three years unless they obtain a pardon. If they are in the United States for 365 days or more, they must stay outside the United States for ten years unless they obtain a waiver. If they return to the United States without the pardon, they may not apply for a waiver for a period of ten years. -
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Immigration and National Security Connection
Immigration is linked to national secutity issues. -
Immigration Customs and Enforcement is created
ICE was created to find immigrants that are national security threats, however, in more recent years they serve as a more general immigration enforement agency. This was created at the same time that the Department of Homeland Security was created.