GCU 113 History Timeline- Events Related to Immigration Issues from U.S and Arizona History
By bacampo1
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Alien and Sedation Acts
Signed into law by President John Adams in 1798, the Alien and Sedation Acts consisted of four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress as America prepared for war with France. These acts increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from five to fourteen years, authorized the president to imprison or deport aliens considered 'dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States' and restricted speech critical of the government. -
Steerage Act
The Steerage Act was an act where immigrants, whether it be from different parts of the world (Europe, South America, etc.) had to report passengers to there destination. This was really the first time there was any kind of keeping track on those who were coming into the country. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." There is a argument over whether this applies to children of illegal immigrants. -
First "Great Wave" of European Immigrants to the United States
The 1880s saw a huge immigration explosion. The period between 1880 and 1924 witnessed an average of 560,000 immigrants per year, amounting to over 25 million immigrants over a 44 year period. This period saw a large increase in Jewish immigration to the US, largely due to repressive laws enacted in Russia and Prussia. Additionally, large numbers of Italians came to America to flee from the economic and political climate of their homeland. -
Immigration Act of 1882 and Chinese Exclusion Act
The immigration Act of 1882 was the first immigration law enacted by the federal government. This law gave power over immigration enforcement to the secretary of the treasury. It marked the moment when the golden doorway of admission to the United States began to narrow and initiated a thirty-nine-year period of successive exclusions of certain kinds of immigrants, 1882-1921. -
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
In this court case, the Supreme court confirms that the 14th Amendment gives citizenship to all persons born in the United States. -
Immigration Act of 1907
The Immigration Act of 1907 was part of a series of reforms aimed at further restricting the increasing number of immigrants. It was passed as a law to consolidated earlier legislation on the immigration of aliens into the United States and raised the head tax from $2 to $4 per immigrant. It also restricted immigration for certain classes of disables and diseased people. -
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was due to a governmental revolt and poor economic opportunities for citizens of Mexico. Thus thousands of Mexicans moved north across the U.S-Mexico border because the U.S. offered a wealth of jobs in industry, in mines, on railroads, and in agriculture — and all at wage levels far higher than those in Mexico. World War I also further increased the demand for Mexican labor. -
Immigration Act of 1917
In this Act, the United States regulate immigration of aliens to, and the residence of aliens in the United States. This includes (as they stated) "idiots, poor, criminal, etc." U.S were trying to restrict immigrants from "undesirable" countries. It also restricted immigration from Asia by creating an “Asiatic Barred Zone” and introduced a reading test for all immigrants over fourteen years of age, with certain exceptions for children, wives, and elderly family members. -
Emergency Quota Act
The act added two new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits. It limited the number of immigrants from any country to 3% of those already in the US from that country as per the 1910 census. -
Border Patrol
The United States created the U.S border. The purpose of the border was to keep out illegal immigrants from coming into America. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
The IRCA grants amnesty to qualifying immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982. It also made it illegal to hire illegal immigrants knowingly. -
Arizona Proposition 200 Passes
Prop 200 denied public benefits to illegal immigrants. Food stamps were not affected as it was not part of the federally run program. Also, in order to vote, AZ residents had to show proof of citizenship. -
Secure Fence Act
The Secure Fence Act was signed into law by president George W. Bush in order to help secure our borders. It promised the construction of 700 more miles of border fence. This act also allowed for surveillance technology to be used at the border. The goal was to decrease illegal entry, drug trafficking, etc. -
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
President Obama signs DACA to allow some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to stay in the country. Administration officials said the president used existing legal authority to make the broad policy change, which could temporarily benefit more than 800,000 young people.
