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Plantation Act of 1740
British Parliament established this act; it allowed Protestants living in the colonies for 7 years to be considered natural born citizens. -
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Important Events in US Immigration History
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Act Banning Importation of Slaves
This act legally prohibited the selling of slaves through the Transatlantic slave trade. Though slaves were continued to be sold, it was done so in significantly smaller numbers. -
Irish Potato Famine
A shortage of food, namely potatoes, caused mass starvation and disease in Ireland. Consequently, millions of Irish people immigrated to the United States. -
Homestead Act
This law was enacted by President Abraham Lincoln. It encouraged immigrants to move Westward. They were giving land if they could maintain it for 5 years. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Federal Law put into effect by President Chester Arthur. This law prevented Chinese citizens from entering the United States entirely. Largely considered to be the largest restriction on free immigration and first law to exclude ethnic group. -
Statue of Liberty gifted to United States
France gifted the United States the Statue of Liberty. The statue represents freedom and is an icon to immigrants arriving from the East. -
First Ellis Island Station Opens
Ellis Island was notable for processing millions of immigrants all over the world. The station was built in the New York Harbor next to the Statue of Liberty. -
California Alien Land Law
This law banned immigrants ineligible for citizenship from ownning land. Though this law did not directly name any ethnic groups, its was mainly focused at immigrants from Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. -
Alien Registration Act
All immigrants were required to be registered and fingerprinted. This information was stored in United States databases. This was done under the pretense that immigrants would be protected. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
Act signed into effect by President Ronal Reagan. This act made it illegal to hire undocumented immigrants. Moreover, it was made mandatory for employers to check the legal status of their workers. -
Immigration Act of 1990
President George H. W. Bush signed this bill in effect. It increased the annual amount of migrants that could enter the United States. It also created different categories for employment VISAS. -
DREAM Act
Legislative proposal introduced to the Senate. It proposes conditional residency for immigrants upon the completion of certain requirements (i.e. obtaining a college education, etc.). -
Patriot Act
This act signed into effect by George W. Bush increased law enforcement presence near international borders. Moreover, more restrictions were placed on immigration. These two aspects coupled significantly decreased the people coming into the United States. -
Secure Fence Act of 2006
President George W. Bush signed this bill to secure national borders. This bill was enacted in the hopes to decreasing illegal immigration and security threats. The bill focused on the Mexico-U.S border. -
SB1070
Senate Bill proposed in Arizona. This bill is infamous for its anti-immigrant approach. Originally, bill proposed that law enforcement could detain individual for suspecting they were in Arizona illegaly, but later revised. Criminalized those that hid undocumented migrants.
