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Citizenship and Naturalization under Individual States' Control
Under the Articles of Confederation (put in place in 1781 and replaced by the Constitution in 1788), individual states were permitted to decide their policies of citizenship and naturalization of immigrants. Pennsylvania allowed anyone who showed good character and took an oath of allegiance to become a citizen after one year, while South Carolina required two years. -
First Alien Naturalization Act
this provided the firs trules that were universal over all the United States in terms of granting national citizenship. At this time, naturalization was limited to aliens who were free and white, which left out indentured servants, slaves, and most women (considered dependents.) -
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Alien and Sedition Acts
President John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts into law, increasing the residency requirement for citizenship substantially, authorizing the president to imprison or deport aliens considered dangerous, and restrict speech criticizing the government. -
Irish Immigration to US begins
In the century following 1820, 5 million Irish immigrants came to the U.S. Certain native-born Americans (called nativists) didn't like the Irish because of their social behavior, impact on economy, and Catholicism. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
the US acquired Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and parts of Utah and Nevada through this treaty, ending the Mexican-American War -
Anarchist Exclusion Act
Allowed exclusion and deportation of alien anarchists (foreigners who advocate overthrowing the government through violence) -
Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization created
became in charge of all matters involving the naturalization of aliens -
Estimated that over 1 million Mexicans are in the US illegally
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Bracero Program
The Bracero Program brought 5 million temporary laborers from Mexico to work in US farms and railroads during this 22-year period. The US had drained manpower for World War II and looked abroad for labor. -
Ellis Island closes
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Undocumented Laborers continue to arrive from Mexico
Even though the Bracero program ended, Mexico still insisted on renewing the program, therefore causing undocumented laborers. -
US Census estimates that 2-4 million immigrants in the US were illegal, with half of them being from Mexico.
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Cuba allows 125,000 Cubans to illegaly depart for the US
Later, the US and Cuba made an arrangement to resume normal immigration and return the people who had entered the US illegally to Cuba. -
"Minuteman Project" begins
This project recruited civilians to patrol the US/Mexico border to track down undocumented immigrants. -
Arizona Bill (SB 1070) signed into law
This controversial law expanded the state's authority to combat illegal immigration. It considered being in the country illegally a state crime and required immigrants to carry paperwork proving their status. -
US Supreme Court upholds AZ law penalizing businesses that hire undocumented immigrants.