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Citizenship
Congress declared a preference for immigrants from Europe. In 1790, it passed a law defining who could become a citizen if a person was not born here: Citisenship was possible only for "a free white person." -
Period: to
Heaviest periof of immigration in American History
25 million immigrants arrived. Most came from the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
No Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. Chinese prfessionals were still allowed to immigrate. -
Quota Act
Immigration form any country is limited to 2% of its total numbers in the 1890 census. -
Immigration Act
Introduced a quota system by country. This would favor groups that had been in the U.S. for a long time. -
Immigration Reform Act
Abolishing the quota system based on national origin. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Regan wanted to slow illegal imigration by punishing employers who knowingly hired undocumented immigrants. He wanted to offer a way fro long-term, undocumented immigrants to become legal. -
Immigration Act
No country could account for more than 7% of total immigrans. Law also considered a person's education and skills. Law set up special categories for war refugees or close relatives of American citizens. -
Immigration Reform Act
Increased the border patrol staff and stiffened penalties for creating false citizenship papers or smuggling undocumented workers. -
Bush Bill
Proposed to full short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened border control. Als fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship. Senate voted the bill down.
