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Chinese Exclusion Act
For the first time, the United States banned immigration based on ethnic origin. The legislation, signed into law by President Chester Arthur, came in response to public officials' allegations that Chinese workers -- attracted by the California Gold Rush and work on the nation's first transcontinental railroad --depressed wages.
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Doorway to the East
Ellis Island opens as the first federal immigration station, screening immigrants entering the East Coast. According to some officials manning the entry point, women traveling alone were deported unless they were met by a man.
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Waiting room to the West
Angel Island: Built as the "Ellis Island of the west," and officially opened in 1910, it became a defacto detention facility where Asian immigrants were held for weeks or months. Chinese immigrants, banned by the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, could enter only if they could prove that they were joining relatives already in the United States.
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Immigration Act
The first permanent immigration quota law in the United States was an attempt to keep it a nation of Northern European stock. It allowed each nation a number of visas equal to two percent of its population in the United States as of the 1890 census -- except for Asians, who were completely excluded.
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Quotas introduced for Filipinos
The Tydings-McDuffie Act, provided independence for the Philippines, but stripped residents of US citizenship and introduced an immigration quota of 50 people annually.
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The "Bracero" Program
To fill a demand for laborers, Congress created one of the first guest worker programs, allowing temporary agricultural workers from Mexico.
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U.S. citizenship for Asians
The Magnuson Act repealed the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, allowing residents of China -- a U.S. ally during World War II -- to immigrate to the U.S.
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The War Brides Act
The War Brides Act eased the admission to the U.S. for spouses and families of returning war veterans. Over the next three years, more than 100,000 people were allowed into the country.
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The Displaced Persons Act
The Displaced Persons Act allowed Europeans displaced by the war to enter the United States outside of immigration quotas. People from war-torn Europe, were allowed to enter as long as they could provide for their families without the U.S. government's assiatance.
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Red Scare
At the height of the Cold War, Congress passes the Immigration and Nationality Act over President Harry Truman's veto. While the law eliminated the last of the "Asian exclusion" measures, the effect was more symbolic, as visas for Asian immigrants were limited to 100 for each nation in the region a year. http://sunlightfoundation.com/feature/immigration-timeline/#9 -
Deportation of illegal laborers
"Operation Wetback" deported as many as 1,100 workers a day. The operation lasted through end of the decade.
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Ending race-based immigration
The Hart-Celler Act abolished the origins quota that favored western Europeans, replacing it with an immigration system based on profession, skills and family ties with U.S. citizens.
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The "amnesty" bill
Backed by then-President Ronald Reagan, Congress enacted a sweeping immigration bill that established penalties for employers who hire workers without papers but provided a path to citizenship for an estimated three million already in the USA. A recent ad supporting comprehensive immigration reform by the National Association of Manufacturers. http://sunlightfoundation.com/feature/immigration-timeline/#12 -
Patriot Act
In the wake of the 9-11 attacks, Congress amended to widen the scope of non-citizens that could be deported. The goal of the legislation that passed almost immediately was to strengthen domestic security.
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Immigration reform meltdown
Despite broad bipartisan support from then-President George W. Bush and congressional leaders such as Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., the most sweeping immigration bill since the 1986 legislation failed on the Senate floor.
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Dream Act fails
This was a bill to provide people brought to the United States illegally as children, a chance at becoming citizens of the only country many of them know. President Barack Obama end-arounded the gridlocked Congress last year, telling immigration officials not to deport DREAM-eligible young people.
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