Immigration Fight Heats Up

As a nation of immigrants, Americans have struggled with border laws for 200 years.

For much of the 20th century immigration was controlled by a system of complicated quotas, restricting the number of legal immigrants by nationality and assigning over two-thirds of all quota numbers to Britain, Ireland, and Germany while sharply limiting immigration from Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa.

After a 40-year campaign by minority groups for reform of federal immigration laws, the origins quota system was abolished in 1965.

As the country debates changing immigration laws once again, we took a closer look at how the rules have changed throughout history.

 

A brief history of immigration

Fights over immigration law have been going on in the U.S. since the 1790s.

By Frances Symes

As a nation of immigrants, Americans have struggled with border laws for 200 years.
For much of the 20th century immigration was controlled by a system of complicated quotas, restricting the number of legal immigrants by nationality and assigning over two-thirds of all quota numbers to Britain, Ireland, and Germany while sharply limiting immigration from Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa.
After a 40-year campaign by minority groups for reform of federal immigration laws, the origins quota system was abolished in 1965.
As the country debates changing immigration laws once again, we took a closer look at how the rules have changed throughout history.
Below, a timeline of major legal changes:
1790: The first federal law on naturalization, which had previously been under the control of the individual states, establishes uniform rules by setting the residence requirement at two years.
1802: Law establishes basic requirements for naturalization, including good moral character, allegiance to the Constitution, a formal declaration of intention, and testimony from witnesses.

1862: An act prohibits the transportation of Chinese "coolies" on American ships.

1864: The first Commissioner of Immigration appointed by President to serve under the Secretary of State. An act authorizes immigrant labor contracts whereby would-be immigrants would pledge their wages to pay for transportation (repealed in 1868).
1875: An act prohibits the entry of undesirable immigrants for the first time, excluding criminals, prostitutes, and Asians transported without their free and voluntary consent.
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act suspends immigration of Chinese laborers to the U.S. for ten years, provided for deportation of Chinese illegally in the U.S., bars Chinese from naturalization, permits the entry of Chinese students, teachers, merchants, or those "proceeding to the U.S. … from curiosity" (repealed in 1943).
1891: The first comprehensive national immigration law establishes a Bureau of Immigration under the Treasury Department; restricts immigration by adding to the inadmissible classes of persons, including those "likely to become public charges," those suffering from contagious disease, and felons. Law also forbids the encouragement of immigration by advertisement; allows the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe rules for inspecting the borders and directs the deportation of aliens who entered the U.S. unlawfully.
1903: Immigration Act is the first measure to provide for the exclusion of aliens on the grounds of their political opinions by excluding "anarchists, or persons who believe in, or advocate, the overthrow by force or violence the government of the United States." The law also provides for the deportation of aliens who became public charges within two years after entry from causes existing prior to their landing.

1906: Naturalization Act makes knowledge of the English language a requirement for naturalization.
1907: A major codification of previous immigration laws authorizes the president to refuse admission to certain persons when he was satisfied that their immigration was detrimental to labor conditions in the U.S. and creating a joint commission to make an investigation of the immigration system. Those findings were the basis of the comprehensive Immigration Act of 1917.
1917: Immigration Act excludes illiterate aliens from entry, further restricts immigration from Asia, bars natives of the "Asia-Pacific triangle," and broadens the classes of deportable aliens.
1921: Quota Law is the first law to limit the number of aliens of any nationality entering the United States depending on number of foreign-born persons of that nationality already living in the United States. Aliens belonging to any "recognized learned profession" and those employed as domestic servants are exempt from the quota system.
1924: Immigration Act establishes the national origins quota system. Starting in 1927, the annual quota for any country or nationality is set in proportion to the number of inhabitants in the continental U.S. having that national origin in 1920. A preference is set for unmarried children under 21, parents, spouses of citizens aged 21 and over, and immigrants skilled in agriculture. The law also says that that no alien may enter without an immigration visa issued by an American consular officer abroad.
1943: Act provides for the importation of temporary agricultural laborers from North, South and Central America to aid agriculture during WWII.  The program is later extended through 1947, and develops into the Mexican "Bracero Program," which lasts through 1964.
1948: Displaced Persons Act is the first U.S. policy for admitting persons being persecuted in their native country. It permits the admission of up to 205,000 persons over two years. The law is later amended and extended through 1952.
1951: Law amends the Agricultural Act of 1949, which served as the basic framework under which the Mexican Bracero Program operated. Under the law, the U.S. government sets up reception centers at or near the Mexican border to provide transportation, subsistence, and medical care to Mexican laborers, and guarantees that employers play prevailing wages and provide housing and adequate meals at a reasonable cost.
1952: The McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act brings into one comprehensive statute the multiple laws which govern immigration and naturalization in the U.S. The law revises the quota system of 1924 while keeping in place limits on immigrants of certain nationalities, and giving preference to skilled aliens and relatives of U.S. citizens.
1965: Congress abolishes the national origins quota system, eliminating national origin, race, or ancestry as a basis for immigration to the U.S. The law also allocates immigrant visas on a first come, first served basis. Still, it keeps in place a system of three categories of permissible immigrants, with caps on immigrants from the Western Hemisphere, all other nations, and immediate relatives of citizens.
1980: Refugee Act declares the goal of providing "a permanent and systematic procedure" for the admission and resettlement of refugees of special humanitarian concern to the U.S.
1986: Immigration and Control Act creates the first finces for employers who knowingly hire foreigners in the country illegally. Under a compromise, the bill creates a mechanism for giving legal status (or amnesty) to millions of illegal aliens who could prove they had resided continuously in the U.S. since before 1982. It also creates a program to give seasonal agricultural workers temporary resident status.

1990: Another overhaul of immigration laws reverses the visa system set up in the 1965 law. It expands the total immigration level and revises the levels set for certain categories of immigration, including the immigration of family members and employment-based immigration. It establishes special visas for highly skilled and non-agricultural temporary workers.
1993: The North American Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act allows temporary entry on a reciprocal basis between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
1996: Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act restricts federal benefits for illegal aliens and legal non-immigrants while maintaining their access to emergency medical services, disaster relief, treatment for communicable diseases, programs delivered by community agencies, and benefits related to work. It makes most legal immigrants, except refugees, those who had worked in the U.S. for the equivalent of 10 years and veterans, ineligible for Social Security and food stamps until they became citizens, and barrs future immigrants from receiving most low-income federal benefits for five years after arrival.
1996: Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act focuses on stemming illegal immigration and authorizes more funding for border patrols and fences. It also speeds detention and deportation procedures, creates new penalties for alien smuggling and establishes pilot programs aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the workplace.
Frances Symes is a researcher for Congressional Quarterly.
Sources: CQ Almanac, US Citizenship and Immigration Services