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The first Immigrants
on November 11th 1620 the first immigrants to America arrived on the Mayflower. These pilgrims sought religious freedom and a new life in yet developed America. -
The Great Famine
In Ireland, potatoes became a staple food because of how easy they were to grow, when a strain of a water mold decimated the potato crop the poor Irish were forced to starve or migrate to different countries, U.S. included. -
California Gold Rush
In 1849 the discovery of Gold in the California territory led to the mass immigration of people from all over the world hoping to strike it rich by finding gold. By the early 1850s the non-native population had grown to 300,000 from 100,000 only 20 months earlier. -
Chinese hired to build railroad
In the summer of 1865, Chinese were hired as cheap labor to construct the first transcontinental railroad in harrowing conditions. This type of cheap labor in less than ideal conditions is the time's equivalent to Mexican workers today. -
Chinese Exclusion act
This was the first act to bar a specific ethnicity from entry to the United States. Chinese were seen as taking American jobs and hurting the economy although neither of these are true. -
Immigration act of 1924
This law limited the number of immigrants from a certain country to 2% of the current population within the States per year. This was another law enacted due to xenophobia and fears of "foreigners" hurting the economy. -
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
On December 7th 1941 the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with planes and bombs. This attack would force America's hand to engage in the war which we had been able to remain out of for some time. This attack by Japan would be the cause of deep anti-Japanese sentiments throughout the nation with the feelings of resent towards innocent Japanese-American citizens as well. -
Japanese-American Interment and immigration policies
After the attack on Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt passed a bill that required any American citizen with Japanese heritage to register with the government and report to internment camps. This was after there had already been restrictions on Japanese immigration and further choked Japanese immigration to the states due to fears of sabotage during the war effort. -
California Prop 187
The so called "Save Our State" (SOS) initiative was very similar to Arizona's SB1070 in that it allowed police officers who were suspicious of a detainees immigration status to further look into it and report positive findings to the California Attorney General and INS. In July 1997 the bill was repealed and the appeal to overturn the ruling was shot down, killing the bill. -
9/11
Much like the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 ignited fears of certain ethnic groups across the states. Still to this day we see incidents of profiling as well as legislation targeted towards Muslim Americans. -
Arizona SB 1070
Arizona passed Senate bill 1070 which was the strictest immigration legislation ever passed in the United States since the immigration act of 1924. The bill required police Officers to demand papers of people suspected of being in the country illegally. This Senate bill was heavily modified after its constitutionality was called into question due to its racial profiling clauses. -
President Obama Stops deporting young immigrants
In 2012 President Obama announced that he would no longer deport young undocumented immigrants who met criteria that was required under the DREAM act of 2010. The DREAM act has never passed but it has requirements such as background checks and a high school diploma or GED in order to be granted permanent residency. -
Immigration from Muslim countries called into question
After 9/11 Muslims in the US faced scrutiny much like the Japanese after Pearl harbor. These fears have bled over into the political realm with people like President elect Trump saying that we need to suspend immigration from predominantly Muslim countries until a better method of vetting can be obtained. The constitutionality of this has been called into question and it remains to be seen how or if this can be implemented. -
SB1070 settled and modified
Arizona SB 1070 was settled with the National Immigration Law Center and modified so that officers are no longer required to demand the papers of people who are suspected of being in the country illegally. -
Donald Trump Elected President
A Washington outsider who many thought had no chance, Donald Trump dominated the 2016 presidential election on strong promises of immigration reform and building a physical wall to better defend the border from illegal crossings. It was with this campaign promise that many of his supporters and detractors cited as being the reason for their opinion on Donald Trump.
