History of Immigration - An American Story

The Conquest

1492

The Conquest takes place via the Caribbean, also tagged as the first gentrification.

The First “Luzones Indios”

1586

The First “Luzones Indios,” aka Filipino indigenous men, land in Morro Bay California from the Spanish Galleon ships. They were sailors and crew members in a Spanish voyage “exploring” the coast of northern California.

First shipload of enslaved Africans

1619

First shipload of enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to Jamestown, Virgina, 15 months before “the Mayflower” near Plymouth Rock.Initial stage of Middle Passage- The Atlantic slave trade, millions of enslaved Africans, mostly black men & children were forcibly kidnapped, human trafficked to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade. Ships departed from Europe to African markets with manufactured goods, which were traded for slaves. Then brought as human “cargo” to the Americas

Naturalization Act / Alien and Sedition Act

Period: 1790 to 1798

1790- The Naturalization Act restricts citizenship only to “free white persons.” 1798- The Alien and Sedition Act allows the president to arrest, imprison or deport any non-citizen “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.” This specifically targets African enslaved peoples.

Increased rate of Native American genocide

Period: 1800 to 1973

We see an increased rate of Native American genocide, creation of exterminations schools traditionally known as residential schools, coerced adoption and assimilation. The government passed several acts to diminish Indian autonomy

Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves

1807

The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves bans the importation of slaves into the U.S. but Southern States largely ignores the law to their economic benefit.

Removal Act/ Trail of Tears

1830

The Removal Act mandates the removal of Native Americans from the east of Mississippi River to “Indian Territory” i.e. Reservations in Oklahoma. Over 10,000 people die during this forced migration and displacement, which the Cherokee remember as the “The Trail of Tears”

Underground Railroad/Fugitive Slave Act

Period: 1831 to 1860

1831-1860- The Underground Railroad operates helping 100,000 slaves escape to the North with the help of freed African Americans, white sympathizers, shelter caregivers and guides. 1850- The Fugitive Slaves Act penalizes anyone who helps a slave escape to freedom

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo/Homestead Act

Period: 1846 to 1862

1848-Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, result of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).Took lots of land from Native Americans, mexican indigenous people, Mexicans, Spanish descendants of mixed race, Californios & gave to white Europeans. People displaced from their own land caused lasting psychological effect through Loss of Land, Loss of Identity, Loss of Dignity. 1862-Homestead Act encourages many new Europeans immigrants to move to Western U.S. territory once owned by the people mentioned above.

13th, 14th, 15th Amendment

Period: 1865 to 1870

1865- The 13th Amendment outlaws slavery. In reaction, the Ku Klax Klan is founded and maintains white supremacy through intimidation and violence. 1868- The14th Amendment grants equal protection rights. 1870- The15th Amendment grants African American men the right to vote. The first non white community to do so.

The Page Act

1875

The Page Act is the first restrictive federal immigration law in the U.S. to prohibit the entry of Chinese women. Congress effectively ends the entry of unmarried Asian women as a way of limiting family development and marks the end of open borders.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act bars most Chinese immigrants from entering the U.S, specifically banning immigration by Chinese men.

1898

1898

In the Spanish-American War, the U.S. invades and occupies Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam and other Spanish Colonies in the Pacific Islands. Hawaii is conquered this year too. One of the first examples of how U.S. foreign policy, imperialist policy causes forced migration from these countries and into the U.S.

The Great Migration

Period: 1910 to 1940

The Great Migration is where over 1 million African Americans migrate from the South to the North to escape lynchings, Jim Crow laws and economic hardship that eventually fills a labor void of white labor due to the World Wars. Over 300 lynchings occur during this time and all the way to the 1960s

Anti-miscegenation laws

Period: 1913 to 1948

Anti-miscegenation laws are passed in various states which prohibit the marriage of Whites and Blacks, and other people of color. In California it was prevalent between Whites and Filipino, Mexican, Japanese and Indian. It was also common that is was white woman and men of color. 30 out of the then 48 states enforced such laws. It made it hard for migrant people, mostly men to gain a pathway to citizenship via marriage.

The Ku Klux Klan

1915

The Ku Klux Klan grows in strength, its membership peaks by 1925 with over 5 million members.

The Immigration Act

1917

The Immigration Act enacts a literacy requirement specifically for immigrants to be able to read 40 words. It was intended to reduce European immigration. It bans immigrants from Asia, except for Japan and the Phillipines and tags them as “undesireable.”

Mexicans largely exempted from anti immigrant law for labor only

1917

Mexicans are largely exempted from anti immigrant law so that they can provide skilled labor as farm and ranch workers, mining and railroad industry workers. Individuals considered to be “psychopathically inferior,” including LGBTQ people, are banned from entering the US.

The Snyder Act

1924

The Snyder Act allowed Native Americans to legally vote. It “admitted” Native Americans born in the U.S. to full U.S. citizenship. Though the 15th Amendment, passed in 1870, granted all U.S. citizens the right to vote regardless of race, it wasn't until the Snyder Act that Native Americans could enjoy the rights granted by this amendment

Tydings-McDuffie Act

1934

Tydings-McDuffie Act grants independence to the Philippines. Limits Filipino immigration to a cap of 50 per year. While, locally, it reclassified Filipinos status from “national” to “alien.”

Alien Registration Act

1940

Alien Registration Act requires registration and fingerprinting of “aliens” over 14 years old.

Executive Order 9066 creates Japanese Internment Camps

1942

Executive Order 9066 creates Japanese Internment Camps and forces over 112,000 Japanese Americans, most of them U.S. citizens, to be displaced from their homes and into military internment camps during World War II. SJSU on 4th street and San Carlos became a site of loading buses of japanese people. Japantown San Jose is one of the last three authentic Japantowns in the United States.

The Geneva Convention

1951

The Geneva Convention or The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees defines the rights of refugees, including protections for employment and welfare, on the issue of identity papers and travel documents. This convention is amended in 1967 to apply to all people who become refugees after 1951 This convention has been violated by the Biden administration in the last few weeks by deporting Haitians without due process, resulting in almost 50 flights to Haiti.

Immigration and Nationality Act

1965

Immigration and Nationality Act repeals the national origins quota system that favors European migration. This significantly alters eligibility to enter the US. The Act stressed family reunification and awards most of immigration slots to relatives. “Family” is based on strictly heterosexual and nuclear ties. This law explicitly bans lesbians and gays as “sexual deviants.”

The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act

1975

The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act allows refugees from Cambodia and South Vietnam to the U.S. This act allocates $400+ million as a response to the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Eventually Laos benefits from this.

INS [Immigration Naturalization Services]

1980

New policy on “homosexuality”: if immigrants admit they are “homosexual” to INS inspector they are excluded from entering US. If “homosexual” people deny they are homosexual,& are later found out, could be deported for perjury. That year,125,000 Cubans left the port of Mariel, Cuba mostly by boat, bound for U.S. The exodus included at least 1,000 lgbtq people viewed as undesirables by Castro. Anti communist U.S. received them & American gay press mobilized to support.

The Sanctuary Movement

Period: 1982 to 2016

1982- The Sanctuary Movement provides sanctuary to Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees by 250 churches 2008- The movement is revived through the leadership of Flor Crisostomo and Elvira Arellano, Mexicans who find refuge in Chicago, Illinois at Adalberto United Methodist Church. 2016- Students organized in colleges and universities to become sanctuary sites. Portland State University and Reed College were the first institutions to officially declare their campuses as sanctuaries

The Immigration Reform and Control Act

1986

Immigration Reform & Control Act gives amnesty to approx. 3 million undocumented residents, allows for 11 million loved ones to benefit over next few years, receiving a green card.
Introduces e-verify, implements sanctions for employers, making it illegal for them to hire undocumented workers. E-verify is optional unless federally funded like FHDA. In CA, private employers not mandated to use E-Verify unless have a contract with a public employer or they apply for taxpayer-funded incentives.

LGBTQ Rights & HIV+ Bans

Period: 1990 to 2009

1990- Congress removes homosexuality as a reason to disqualify foreigners from immigrating or even visiting the United States. 1993 - Congress bans people who are HIV+ from entering the U.S. as immigrants. The policy was finally changed in 2009.

Blockade strategy on the U.S. Mexico Border

1993

The U.S implements a blockade strategy on the U.S. Mexico Border, forcing migrants to cross through the desert. In those 10 years, until 2013, over 3000 people died while trying to cross. In the meantime, over 2400 people died between 2014-2019.

LGBT asylum seekers

1994

LGBTfolks are able to apply for asylum in US. Must establish history of past persecution or a well-founded fear of future persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. LGBT asylum seekers still face serious barriers. Asylum cases are often decided based on “evidence” of harassment, or corroborating statements from witnesses. Persecution of individuals based on sexual orientation is subjective, culturally specific & often hidden.

CA Proposition 187

1995

California voters pass Proposition 187, which prohibits providing of public education, welfare, local law enforcement and health services to undocumented immigrants. It aimed to strip undocumented residents from accessing these services. This is later found unconstitutional.

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)

1996

Under the Clinton Administration:
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). We want to bing attention to Section 287(g) which allows the U.S. Attorney General to enter into agreements with state and local (city- county) law enforcement agencies, permitting immigration law enforcement in local sites.
Welfare reforms end monetary and medical assistance for most immigrants.

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

1996

Under the Clinton Administration:
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act - increases jailing of non violent, non criminal immigrants and allows deportation of immigrants for minor crimes and results in the deportation of over 200,000 people. Giving rise to the term “crimmigration”

The United States Department of Homeland Security is created

Period: 2001 to 2003

The United States Department of Homeland Security is created replaces INS. Events from the September 11 attacks set the state for “national security” immigration policy. Congress passes the Patriot Act I and II, which gives the federal government broad powers to detain suspected terrorists for unlimited periods of time without access to legal representation. Civil rights are denied like due process. Over 1,200 Arab, Muslim and South Asian men are detained in secret.

AB540/Federal DREAM Act legislatio

Period: 2001 to 2022

2001- AB 540 is passed in California however the California Dreamers Act did not pass until 2011 2001-2022 - Federal DREAM Act legislation, stuck in Congress for 20 years, used as a pawn by both major political parties

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

2012

DACA is passed during the Obama administration due to fiercely educated undocumented and organized students.

Same-Sex Marriage Permitted and Recognized

2015

Supreme Court decision in Obergefell case mandates that same-sex marriage be permitted and recognized across the country. However, couples with mixed statuses had to go through extra barriers to honor their same sex marriage.

The Muslim Ban

2017

“The Muslim Ban” - Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, includes the following: (1) suspend admission of all refugees for 120 days while a new system is put in place to tighten vetting, (2) ban the entry of foreign nationals for 90 days from seven majority Muslim countries: Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iran and (3) halt the flow of refugees from Syria until further notice.

Crossing the Border

2021

2021- Crossing the border for a higher quality of life Orgs front lines :Haitian Bridge Alliance, BAJI, UndocuBlack, & Africans US file Civil Rights Complaint after Violations of Haitian Migrant Rights
Source: Omar Ornelas at Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico to Del Rio, Texas 2021- Movement of Afro-Latina & Latina indigenous trans woman led, queer centered throughout the south and southwest supporting underground railroad for queer migrants, those seeking asylum & healing them from violence

2022 US Citizenship & Immigration Services Director pleas for funding

2022

More funding was requested to to help the immigration agency tackle lengthy visa blockings and processing times that have kept applicants in limbo for months or longer