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Congress declared a preference for immigrants from Europe. In 1790, it passed a law defining who could become a citizen if a person was not born here: Citisenship was possible only for "a free white person."
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25 million immigrants arrived. Most came from the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe.
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No Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. Chinese prfessionals were still allowed to immigrate.
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Immigration form any country is limited to 2% of its total numbers in the 1890 census.
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Introduced a quota system by country. This would favor groups that had been in the U.S. for a long time.
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Abolishing the quota system based on national origin.
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Regan wanted to slow illegal imigration by punishing employers who knowingly hired undocumented immigrants. He wanted to offer a way fro long-term, undocumented immigrants to become legal.
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No country could account for more than 7% of total immigrans. Law also considered a person's education and skills. Law set up special categories for war refugees or close relatives of American citizens.
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Increased the border patrol staff and stiffened penalties for creating false citizenship papers or smuggling undocumented workers.
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Proposed to full short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened border control. Als fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship. Senate voted the bill down.
