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English Immgrants Settle into the U.S.
When the English first came to the U.S. they were not considered illegal, but they were considered immigrants. We keep this in mind because today the issue of immigration always falls back to when the English first came to a land that was not theirs. -
First Time the Alien Naturalization Act was Enacted
These were the first rules provided in allowing people to have national citizenship. This is where "who is a citizen and who is not a citizen" begins. -
John Adams Passes the First of the Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were four parts of the controversial legislation. The first act was the Nationalization Act that stated that immigrants have to reside in the U.S. for 14 years before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship. -
The Alien Act, Signed by John Adams
This was the second piece to the controversial legislation. It gave the president the authority to deport aliens during peacetime. -
The Alien Enemies Act, signed by John Adams
The third part. This gave the president the power to deport any alien living in the U.S. with ties to U.S. wartime enemies. -
The Sedition Act was Passed
The last part. This act gave Adams (since he was president at the time) tremendous power to define treasonable activity including any false, scandalous and malicious writing. -
50,000 Slaves Become First "Illegal Immigrants" in the U.S.
This is the first time the term "Illegal Immigrants" takes place. -
Mexican-American War Begins
Many of the immigration issues we face in Arizona are with Mexico. Because the land use to belong to Mexico I can see why there are many issues today. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
The Mexican-American War ended, but what use to be Mexico's territory now belongs to the United States. Mexican's that were living in the area at the time were allowed to stay and become U.S. citizens. -
14th Amendment Guarantees Citizenship to all Persons Born In the U.S
Many issues today are with the fact that people born here are citizens, but if their parents are immigrants should they still be considered citizens? The 14th Amenment was created for equality and it should remain this way. -
The Expatriation Act
There is a lot to this act, but what stood out to me the most was the part that stated "any child born in the United States to immigrant parents will be a US citizen if the parents become US citizens while the child is a minor and while the child lives in the United States permanently." This just shows that the issue we still face today was something we struggled with back then as well. -
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution is what led thousands of Mexicans to enter the U.S. The Mexicans needed work and the Americans needed workers because of the War. -
The Bracero Program Was Created
During this time Americans would allow Mexicans to work in agriculture. They were to sign agricultural labor contracts and were allowed to stay legally for a temporary time being. Once they no longer needed their help they wanted to send them back to Mexico, but not many of them did. -
SB 1070 Was Signed into Law
It is the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act." This is an issue that has been called out for racial profiling. It allows officers to pull people over if they have any reason to believe they are an illegal immigrant. The thing is how do you look at a person and say they look illegal? -
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Was Created
This policy was created by President Barack Obama to allow certain individuals that were brought to the U.S. as children the opportunity to attend school and work.
