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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 immigrant from becoming a citizen.
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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.
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In 1882, Congress responded by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act. It said that no Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. 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 In that conflict, China was an American ally and Congress repealed the law.
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Each country's immigrants were limited 2 percent of foreign-born residents from that country listed in the U.S. Census of 1890.
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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 2 percent of foreign-born residents from that country listed in the U.S. Census of 1890.
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in 1965 congress passed the immigration reform act, abolishing the quota system based on national origin. when he signed the reform bill, president Lyndon b. Johnson referred to the old system as "un-american"
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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.
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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 united states. in order to accomplish this, it passed the immigration act of 1990,which said that no country could account for more than 7% of total immigrants.
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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.
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Late in his presidency, in June 1007, president George w bush committed himself to backing a bill to address all immigration issues. bushs bill proposed to fill short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened boarder control. yet bush argued that his bill did not propose to track down and deport millions of undocumented worker who were already here.
