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1790
in 1790, it passed a law defining who could become a citizen if a person was not born here: Citizenship was possible only for someone who was "a free white person." As that term was then understood, this barred any African or Asian immigrants from becoming a citizen. -
Period: to
1880 and 1920
One of the heaviest periods of immigration in American history cam between 1880 and 1920 when some 25 million immigrants arrived. Most came from the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe- parts of the world that were unfamiliar to many Americans. They saw these new immigrants as very different from themselves. -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
It said that no Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. (Chinese professionals were still allowed to immigrate.) Renewed several times, the act was in force until World War II. In that conflict, China was an American ally and Congress repealed the law. -
Quota Act of 1921
Congress sets up quotas favoring immigrants from northwestern Europe; the Immigration Act of 1924 expands the quota system: immigration form any country is limited to 2 percent of its total numbers in the 1890 census. -
Immigration Act of 1924
In 1924 Congress took a more drastic step. the Immigration Act of 1924 introduced a quota system by country: Each country's immigrants were limited to 2 percent of foreign-born residents from that country listed in the U.S. Census of 1890. This formula favored groups that had been in the United States for a long time. -
1965-Immigration Reform Act
In 1965, Congress passed the Immigration Reform Act, abolished the quota system based on national origin. The new law was driven by two principles: reunifying families and giving priority to certain skills. The law also set up annual limits: 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere. -
1986-Immigration Reform and Control Act
President Ronald Reagan's Immigration and Reform Control Act had a dual purpose. First, Reagan wanted to slow illegal immigration by punishing employers who knowingly hired undocumented immigrants. Second, he wanted to offer a way for long-term, undocumented immigrants to become legal. If they could show they had entered the United States before January of 1982 and lived here continuously , they could apply for amnesty. Eligible workers could be granted temporary and then permanent residency. -
Immigration Act of 1990
In order to accomplish this, it passed the Immigration Act of 1990, which said that no country could account for more than 7 percent of total immigrants. The law also considered a person's education and skills. In addition, the 1990 law set up special categories for war refugees or close relatives of American citizens. -
Immigration Reform Act of 1996
In 1996 concerns about the continuing problem of illegal immigration led Congress to pass yet another immigration law. It increased the border patrol staff and stiffened penalties for creating false citizenship papers or smuggling undocumented workers. -
2007
Bush's bill proposed to fill short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened border control. Yet Bush argued that his bill was also realistic because it did not propose to track down and deport millions of undocumented workers who were already here. The bill also would have fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship. In late June, the Senate voted the bill down.
