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Beginning of Colonial Immigration; English Settlers Arrive in America
1607 was the year 100 English colonists founded Jamestown, the first permanent North American settlement. This started colonial immigration. -
Importation of African Slaves Begins
The first 20 slaves came to Jamestown in 1619 and was the first of many to come. By the end of the colonial period, blacks made up almost 20% of the population. -
Massachusetts Requires Permission to Host Aliens
In May of 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts ordered that no town or person in the colony should receive or host any alien without permission from the authorities. -
Anti-Quaker Immigration Popular but Quakers Still Immigrate
Starting with 1656, the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and in all of the New England Colonies, except Rhode Island, are filled with legislation designed to prevent the coming of the Quakers and the spread of their 'accursed tenets.' Whippings, imprisonment, banishment, and in a few instances capital punishment, were the order of the day.' -
10,000 Indentured Servants Kidnapped from England and Sent to the Colonies
Most indentured servants or redemptioners were brought under compulsion; the others came voluntarily. Many of them were kidnapped from the streets. -
36,000 British Convicts Transported to America after Passage of Transportation Act of 1717
The late 17th and 18th centuries saw a decline in the 'older' punishments in favor of fines, prison and, a new solution to the problem: transportation. From the Transportation Act of 1717 up to 1769, 36,000 convicts were sent to British colonies in America. -
England Stops Emigration to the Colonies; Fines Imposed upon Emigrants and Ship Masters Violating the Law
Heavy financial burdens were imposed upon emigrants and shipmasters who violated the law. A change in policy that was not overlooked by the American Revolutionists when they compiled their grievances against George III in the Declaration of Independence. -
First Alien Naturalization Act Enacted by the Newly Created US Government
This act limited naturalization to immigrants who were free white people of good character. It excluded native Americans, indentured servants, slaves, free blacks and later asians. It also provided for citizenship for the children of U.S. citizens born abroad. -
Irish Immigration to US Begins along with Anti-Irish Sentiments in US
In the century after 1820 [Irish immigration started in 1816], 5 million Irish immigrants came to the United States. Their arrival provoked a strong reaction among native-born Americans, known as nativists, who hated the Irish for their social behavior, their impact on the economy, and their Catholic religion. -
Supreme Court Rules in New York v. Miln That States May Take Precautionary Measures Against the Importation of "Paupers, Vagabonds, Convicts, and Infectious Articles"
The defendant, Miln, a ship master, refused to follow a state law requiring all vessels docking in New York City to provide a list of passengers and to post security against the passengers from becoming public charges and argued that the New York law obstructed interstate and foreign commerce. The Supreme Court upheld the New York law stating it was part of the states "police power". (Reversed in Edwards v. California) -
State Immigration Laws Become Unconstitutional; Congress Begins to Bring Immigration Under Direct Federal Control for the First Time
In Henderson v New York, Congress’s authority to regulate international commerce, which included the landing of passengers, the Henderson decision had the effect of striking down all state laws regulating immigration. -
Chinese Exclusion Act Passes and Immigration Exclusion Era Begins
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 didn't allow the admission of Chinese laborers for ten years. It was the first major restriction for immigration to America and was extended with minor adjustments for sixty years. A new tradition of restricting U.S. immigration through federal policy had begun after is passed. -
Statue of Liberty Unveiled; "The Huddled Masses Yearning To Be Free" Invited to Immigrate
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, on Bedloe's Island, was dedicated as a gift of the French nation to the American people and as a symbol of their eternal friendship. It was Emma Lazarus who wrote the immortal lines for the tablet inside the pedestal, with their oft-quoted invitation to 'the tired, the poor, the homeless and the tempest-tost,' 'the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' -
Ellis Island Opens as Immigrant Entry Checkpoint
From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island, a small island in New York Harbor. This made Ellis Island an icon for immigrants and immigration. -
Supreme Court Confirms That 14th Amendment Gives Citizenship to All Persons Born in the United States
In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Wong Kim Ark was born in United States and visited his parents who moved to China. During reentry however he was denied because he wasn't a citizen. The Supreme Court decided that the government could not deny citizenship to anyone born in the United States. -
Anarchist Exclusion Act Enacted; Exclusion of Immigrants Based on Political Ideology Begins
It codified previous immigration law and added four unallowable classes: anarchists, people with epilepsy, beggars, and importers of prostitutes. -
Naturalization Act Creates Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization
Expanded the existing Immigration Bureau to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and put it in charge of ‘all matters concerning the naturalization of aliens.’ This act created the basic steps of naturalization from 1906-1952. -
US Border Patrol Established with Labor Appropriation Act of 1924
The Labor Appropriation Act of 1924 officially established the U.S. Border Patrol for the purpose of securing the borders between inspection stations. In 1925 its duties were expanded to patrol the seacoast. -
Mexican “Repatriation Act” Forces Immigrants in the United States Back to Mexico
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US President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs Executive Order 9066 Sending Tens of Thousands of Japanese Americans (Among Others) to Internment Camps
The signed order gave the military broad powers to ban any citizen from a fifty- to sixty-mile-wide coastal area stretching from Washington state to California and extending inland into southern Arizona. Although it is not well known, the same executive order were also applied to smaller numbers of residents of the United States who were of Italian or German descent. -
US Supreme Court Justifies Executive Order 9066 in Korematsu v. The United States
Korematsu refused to follow the evacuation order that the US did after Pearl Harbor. In an opinion written by Justice Black, the Court ruled that the evacuation order violated by Korematsu was valid. The majority found that the Executive Order did not show racial prejudice but rather responded to the strategic imperative of keeping the U.S. and particularly the West Coast (the region nearest Japan) secure from invasion -
Refugee Act of 1980 Allows Persecuted Individuals to Seek Asylum in United States
The primary goal of the Refugee Act of 1980 was to bring US law into compliance with the requirements of international law. Term 'refugee' definition from 1951 convention it is any person unable or unwilling to return to his or her country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) Grants Legal Status to Qualifying Immigrants Who Entered the US Illegally before Jan. 1, 1982
The Act made it illegal to hire or recruit illegal immigrants knowingly, legalized illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 candidates were required to prove that they were not guilty of crimes, that they were in the country before January 1, 1982, and that they possessed minimal knowledge about U.S. history, government, and the English language. At the time, the Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated that about 2 million would be eligible. -
Immigration Act of 1990 Signed into Law; Creates Lottery Visa System
The Immigration Act of 1990 changed American immigration law and allowed more people to enter the country each year. It also amended previous immigration law that disallowed HIV-positive individuals from entering America. It also created the yearly lottery where immigrants gain visas randomly. -
Bring Them Home Alive Act Grants Refugee Status to Foreigners Who Return Living Vietnam or Korean War POWs or MIAs
Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, or child of the alien) who is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and personally delivers into US custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. -
Homeland Security Act created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a new department in the executive branch
The Homeland Security Act created the Department of Homeland Security and as a result immigration policy changed to be stricter. A few agencies enacted under the structure of the DHS include the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. -
Controversial Arizona Bill (SB 1070) Signed into Law, Expanding the State's Authority to Combat Illegal Immigration
The law states it will be a state crime to be in the country illegally, and legal immigrants will be required to carry paperwork proving their status. Arizona police will generally be required to question anyone they 'reasonably suspect' of being undocumented -
President Obama Announced Executive Action to Prevent Deportation of Millions of Immigrants in the United States Illegally
With 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, Obama's action would allow 4.4 million who are parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents stay in the country temporarily, without the threat of deportation. Those undocumented immigrants could apply legally for jobs. -
President Trump Signs Immigration Executive Order Suspending Entry of People from Several Predominantly Muslim Countries and all Refugees
7 days after Trump took office he used an executive order for travel bans in countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The order also suspended admission of refugees into the US for 120 days. -
California Becomes Sanctuary State
Senate Bill 54 vastly limits who state and local law enforcement agencies can hold, question and transfer at the request of federal immigration authorities. The new law will largely prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using either personnel or funds to hold, question or share information about people with federal immigration agents unless those people have been convicted of one or more offenses. -
US Supreme Court Rules Undocumented Immigrants Can Be Detained Indefinitely
In Jennings v. Rodriguez, S\sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act require that noncitizens who are determined to be inadmissible to the United States must be detained during removal proceedings, though some may be released on bond if they can demonstrate that they are not a flight risk or a danger to the community. They had no hearings or determinations to justify the detentions violated their due process rights. The Supreme Court upheld that illegal immigrants can be detained forever.
