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Naturalization Act of 1790
Enabled "That any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen" One must provide proof of being a good character to the court to be considered. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
This act raised the residency requirements for citizenship from 5 to 14 years, authorized the President to deport aliens, and permitted their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime. -
Homestead Act
Signed by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. The Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. Homesteaders in return paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese laborers were considered a threat to the U.S.
"Federal law proscribed entry of an ethnic working group on the premise that it endangered the good order of certain localities" The Chinese Exclusion Act was established to keep Chinese people from migrating to America. -
France gifts the US with the Statue of Liberty
"Originally conceived as an emblem of the friendship between the people of France and the U.S. and a sign of their mutual desire for liberty, over the years the Statue has become much more. It is the Mother of Exiles, greeting millions of immigrants and embodying hope and opportunity for those seeking a better life in America. It stirs the desire for freedom in people all over the world." -
Openning of Ellis Island
Ellis Island was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. -
Wartime Measure
An act to authorize the refusal of visas to aliens whose admission into the United States would endanger the public safety. -
Refugee Act
This act created The Federal Refugee Resettlement Program, which provides effective resettlement of refugees and assists them to achieve economic self-sufficiency upon arrival to U.S. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Signed into law by Ronald Reagan.The purpose was to amend, revise, and reform/re-assess the status of unauthorized immigrants set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Acts. -
Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act
This Act extended special status to non-citizens who have served in the U.S. armed forces for at least 12 years. -
Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act
Also known as "IIRAIRA."
The Act was designed to "improve border control by imposing criminal penalties for racketeering, alien smuggling and the use or creation of fraudulent immigration-related documents and increasing interior enforcement by agencies charged with monitoring visa applications and visa abusers." The act also required employment eligibility verification. -
Patriot Act
Signed by George W. Bush after 9/11 Also known as the "Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001." This allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking on terrorism. -
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
Also known as the National Intelligence Reform Act. This was written to reinforce immigration security and the border patrol, visa requirements, and punishment for undocmented immigrants. -
Jan Brewer signs SB1070
Senate Bill 1070 allows police to question immigration status of someone under "reasonable suspicion" in Arizona.
