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Who can be a citizen
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 then understood, this barred any African or Asian immigrant from becoming a citizen. After the Civil War, this law was revised to allow people born in Africa to become citizens, but Asian immigrants were still excluded. -
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Heavy Immigration
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 countires of Southern or 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 California Gold Rush and railroad building had attracted many immigrants. Of the men who built the Central Pacific Railroad, the vast majority were Chinese. By the 1870's, Chinese workers made up almost half of the workforce in San Fransico. -
Quota Act of 1921
Congress set up quotas favoring immigrants from northwestern Europe. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 expanded the quota system: immigration from any country is limited to 2 percent of its total numbers in the 1890 census. -
1965-Immigration Reform Act
The Immigration Reform Act throws out the national origins system; now preference is given to reunifying families and second to people whose skills help the U.S. -
1986-Immigration Reform and Control Act
The Immigration Reform and Control Act penalizes employers for knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants, but it gives amnesty to some undocumented immigrants, allowing them a path to eventually apply for citizenship. -
Immigration Act of 1990
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
A new law expands the U.S. Border Patrol and stiffens penalties for false papers. -
Bush's Bill gets voted down
Bush's bill proposed to fill short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened border patrol. This bill also would have fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship--what the administration called a path to citizenship. It was voted down.
