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The Start Of Colonial Immigration
Link To Event Image Settlment on the James River became the first successful English establishment on the continent of North America. Foreigners began to meander into the English colonies, at first in small numbers. -
Permission To Host Aliens In Massachusetts
Link To Event Image The General Court of Massachusetts enforced that no town or person of the colony should host or receive an alien without permission (from the authorities or the government). -
Oath of Allegiance Is Enacted
Link To Event Image Foreigners from Germany began to settle in Pennsylvania without proper identification/certificate. For that reason, the provincial Council required those foreigners to take the Oath of Allegiance that declares they are to be faithful, true, and conform to the laws of England. -
Proclamation Act
Link Of Event & Image The Proclamation Act of 1763, which was issued by King George III, prevented settlers from localizing East of the Appalachian Mountains. This helped stabilize the relationship between the American citizens and the Native Americans through their distributions of trade, land purchases on the western frontier, and settlement. This also helped decrease many deaths among the American citizens! -
United States Constitution
Link To Event Image The United States Constitution replaces the Articles of Confederation (which has governed the union of states since the end of the Revolutionary War) providing new laws for citizenship. -
Alien Naturalization Act
Image Link To Event The Alien Naturalization Act was enacted by Congress in 1790. It administered the first set of rules that were to be followed by all citizens of America in the granting of national citizenship (set a 2 year residence requirement). However, some rules were limited to certain profiled groups. -
Congress Reduces Naturalization Residency
Link To Event Image Four years after the residence requirement (in June of 1798) was raised from 5 years to 14 years, Congress decreased the naturalization residency back to five years. -
Foreign Slave Trade Becomes Illegal
Link To Event Image Approximately, 50,000 slaves that were exported into the United States became the first illegal immigrants; President Jefferson directly made that trade illegal. However, slavery itself and domestic slave trade was still legal. -
The Steerage Act
Link To Event & Image The Act regulated the passenger ships and vessels that were being imported to the United States. It was actually the first federal legislation on immigration that had set rules for passengers reaching the American shores and limiting the number of passengers on arrival and departure. -
Slavery Is Abolished In Mexico
Link To Event & Image President Vicente Guerrero abolishes slavery throughout the republic in Mexico. Mexico also became a refuge for fugitive slaves in America. -
California Gold Rush
Link To Event & Image The discovery of gold by James W. Marshall in the American River, caused a huge population increase of immigrants from around the globe (i.e. Germany, Mexico, Ireland, etc.). One of the most massive gold-seekers seeking fortune (in California) were the Chinese. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Link To Event & Image The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War which resulted in the United States acquiring Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, California, and parts of Utah and Nevada. The Mexicans living in the territory at the time, about 80,000, were allowed to remain and earn their citizenship. -
Major Supreme Court Ruling
Link To Event Image A law was passed in the Supreme Court that only allowed Congress to control immigration. -
Homestead Act
Link To Event & Image The Homestead Act was passed to inspire westward migration. The United Sates Congress offered free land of up to 160 acres; settlers would agree to live on the land and develop it for at least five years. This Act enticed hundreds of thousands of immigrants to move westward as they considered having land of their own. -
First Transcontinental Railroad
Link To Event & Image The Central Pacific hired Chinese laborers and the Union Pacific hired Irish laborers to construct the First Transcontinental Railroad that would stretch from San Francisco to Omaha. -
Naturalization Act Is Extended
Link To Event Image After the Civil War, the Naturalization Act was extended to former slaves that gave them the right to become naturalized citizens. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Link To Event & Image Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act which refrained all Chinese laborers from entering the United States for at least 10 years. This was the start of an era that excluded immigration. -
Immigration Act of 1882
Link To Event Image Congress passed the Immigration Act to prohibit immigration of criminals, mentally ill migrants, and those that could not care for themselves (poor). This law excluded many immigrants from coming to the United States as they were seen as being a cost to the society. -
The Statue Of Liberty
Link To Event & Image The Statue of Liberty was brought as a gift to the United States from France; it resembled a symbol of friendship. This encouraged many immigrants to come to America as it welcomed milllions upon millions of immigrants into the New York Harbor. -
Ellis Island
Link To Event & Image Ellis Island becomes the first major checkpoint for Immigrants entering the United States. Over a span of 62 years, about twelve million immigrants entered through this small island in the New York Harbor. -
14th Amendment
Image Link To Event The 14th Amendment, ruled by the Supreme Court, gave the right and citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States". -
The Gentlemen's Agreement
Link To Event & Image The Gentlemen's Agreement was administered by President Roosevelt and the Japanese Government. It was agreed that passports would not be allowed to Japanese laborers but granted to those laborers, relatives, parents, wives who had been in the United States previously. This caused thousands of wives (which are better known as picture brides) to come to the United States. -
Immigration Act of 1917
Link To Event Image Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 to restrict immigrants from much of Eastern Asia and the Pacific Islands from entering into the United States. -
First Quota Act
Link To Event Image This was the first Quota Act that became a law and restricted the number of immigrants entering the United States from other countries. It was based on an immigrant's country of birth and calculated by the "annual allowable quotas for each country of origin" by 3 percent of all foreign-born individuals of that country. -
United States Border Control
Link To Event & Image The United States Border Patrol was created through the Labor Appropriation Act to secure the borders between each inspection station. -
Bracero Agreement
Link To Event & Image The United States government created and organized the Bracero Program to bring in millions of temporary Mexican laborers to work on US farms and railroads for 22 years. -
Magnuson Immigration Act
Link To Event Image After World War II, the Magnuson Immigration Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and allowed Chinese to become citizens of the United States. -
The Immigration and Nationality Act
Link To Event & Image The Immigration (Hart-Celler) and Nationality Act abolished the national immigrant quota system that existed since the 1920s. The criteria then was based on an immigrant's origin and race; but now, it is a system that is more focused on an immigrant's skills, their family relationships with other citizens, and their refugee status. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Link To Event & Image The Immigration Reform and Control Act was established to control the amount of illegal immigrants entering the United States. It proposed to require legalization of immigrants present since 1982, legalization of certain farm workers, sanctions on employers hiring undocumented workers, and more enforcement along the border. -
Proposition 187
Link To Event Image California's Proposition 187 was approved by voters to deny health care, welfare benefits, and education to illegal immigrants. However, it was later dropped by the United States District Court saying that it violated the United States Constitution. -
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
Link To Event Image The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act allowed more than 300,000 Central Americans (i.e. Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, and Guatemalans, etc.) to become legal citizens of the United States. -
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act
Link To Event Image After the September 11 terrorist attack, President George W. Bush signed the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act. It was proposed to control the United States border more effectively and have immigrant databases easily accessible. -
Secure Fence Act
Link To Event Image President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act to authorize hundreds of miles of fencing along the Southern border. This was in hopes to secure border and to stop unlawful and illegal immigration. -
SB 1070
Link To Event Image Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 in order to expand the State's own authority of fighting illegal immigration. This law required immigrants to carry paperwork and provide their status when questioned by authority. Also, it became a state crime to be in the United States illegally. -
Deferred Action for Children Arrivals
Link To Event Image President Obama signed the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals to let undocumented immigrants (who came to the United States at a young age) to stay in the country. -
Immigration Reform Bill
Link To Event & Image The Gang of Eight's Immigration Reform Bill was passed by the Senate in June of 2013. This Bill allowed undocumented immigrants to have access to a green card and have a chance at citizenship while also attracting laborers from all over the world.
