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1790
In 1790, Congress 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 understood, this barred any African or Asian immigrant from becoming a citizen. -
Period: to
1880 and 1920
One of the heaviest periods of immigration in American history came 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
In 1882, Congress passed the first major law that barred entrance to specific groups because the CA Gold Rush & railroad building had attracted many immigrants. By the 1870's, Chinese workers made up almost half of the workforce in San Francisco. San Franciscans & other Californians began to rally against the Chinese. In 1882 Congress responded by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act. It said that no Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. It was renewed several times. -
Quota Act of 1921
Also known as the Emergency quota act, it restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the United States as of the U.S. Census of 1910. This meant that people from northern European countries had a higher quota and were more likely to be admitted to the U.S. than people from eastern Europe, southern Europe, or other, non-European countries. -
Immigration Act of 1924
It 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. During the next 40 years, immigration dropped sharply. -
1965 Immigration Reform Act
It abolished the quota system based on national origin. The law set up annual limits on immigration: 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 immigrants from the Western Hemisphere. It was driven by two principles: reunifying families and giving priority to certain skills. -
1986 Immigration reform and control act
Its purpose was to slow illegal immigration by punishing employers who hired undocumented immigrants & to offer a way for long-term, undocumented immigrants to become legal. If they could show they had entered the US before Jan 1982 and lived here non stop, they could apply for amnesty. Eligible workers could be granted temporary & then permanent residency. After 5 years they could apply for citizenship. Employers who broke the law paid fines from $200-2k for each undocumented worker they hired. -
Immigration Act of 1990
By 1990, more than 80% of American immigrants came from Asia and Latin America. Congress wanted to prevent any one country from making up most of the immigrants to the US so they passed the Immigration Act of 1990 which said that no country could account for more than 7% of total immigrants. The law also considered a person's education 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
In June 2007, George W. Bush backed a bill to address all immigration issues. Bush's bill proposed to fill in short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened border control. The bill also would've fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship. Many republicans said the bill amounted to amnesty. The senate voted the bill down, giving no chance to solve the immigration issue during Bush's presidency.
