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Chinese Exclusion Act
This act prohibited the entry of those who could not take care of themselves. It also excluded criminals, the poor, and the mentally ill. These immigrants were thought to be inferior and costly to society. -
Ellis Island Opens as Checkpoint
$75,000 was put into thw construction of America's first federal immigration station on Ellis Island. This project bagan in 1890, and was to be made completely out of wood. 450,000 immigrants were processed there the first year after construction. About 1.5 million immigrants had passed through after its five year use. In 1957, the first Ellis Island immigration station was destroyed by a fire on June 15th. -
Naturalization Act
Passed by congress -- the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization was put in charge of all matters concerning aliens. It established a basic procedure for the process of naturalization. -
Ozawa v. US Supreme Court
Takao Ozawa attempted to have the Japanese classified as "white" during this case instead of challenging the constitutionality of racial restrictions. It was declared that the Japanese were ineligible to recieve citizenship in the United States. This trend would continue until the 1960s. -
Alien Registration Act
The Alien Registration Act -- also known as the smith act -- "made it illegal for anyone in the United States to advocate, abet, or teach the desirability of overthrowing the government" (Simkin 2009). It also required alien residents over the age of 14 to record thei occupational status and their political beliefs. Within months over 4 million aliens had registered. This act was created to undermine the American Communist Party. -
Ellis Island Closes
Ellis Island closed after the Arne Peterssen -- a Norwegian detainee -- was released. -
Armed Forces Naturalization Act
This act gave U.S. military veterans who served in Vietnam or other "military hostilities" the privilege to become naturalized citizens. -
Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act
This act admitted displaced Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians into the United States. -
Amerasian Immigration Act
This act offered U.S. immigration to children fathered by American troops in Southeast Asia. -
Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
This act allowed some 300,000 Central Americans (Nicaraguans, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans) to become legal residents. -
September 11th Terrorist Attacks
Because of the terrorist attcaks on September 11th, it prompted the U.S. Department of Defense to expand military support along the borders to prevent illegal immigration.
