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The U.S. Border Patrol Established
The United States Border Patrol was established to control Chinese immigrants crossing the United States-Mexico border. The Immigration and Naturalization Act forced the first permanent limits on immigration according to the population. -
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The History of Immigration
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Alien Registration is Passed
The Government requires all immigrants over the age of 14 to be finger-printed and be enrolled. 10 years later, all immigrants were required to have their addresses reported every year. -
War Influences Immigration Laws
In the interest of unity among the allies of World War II, The Chinese Exclusion Laws are repealed. In 1946, new procedures aid the immigration of foreign born wives, husbands and children of U.S. military personnel. The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 allows 205,000 European refugees over two years, giving priority to those from the Baltic states. The law was created to help victoms of Nazi persecution or those fleeing persecution based on race, religion or politics. -
Quota System is Revised
The Immigration and Nationalist Act, known asthe McCarran-Walker Act, eliminates all racebasedquotas and replaces them with purely nationality-based quotas. To enforce the quotas,the law creates the Immigration and NaturalizationService. However, the Immigration Act of1965, known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolishesnational origins quotas, establishing separateceilings for the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. -
Immigrants Escape Unrest in Their Countries
Refugees flee to the United States after upheaval in their countries: the failed 1956 Hungarian revolution againstthe Soviet Union; the 1959 Cuban revolution; the fall of Saigon in 1975, ending the Vietnam War; and in 1978,the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the fall of the CommunistKhmer Rouge government in Cambodia. -
Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants
As pressure grows to curtail illegalimmigration, Congress enacts theImmigration Control and ReformAct, supported by President RonaldReagan. The sweeping reforms aresupposed to tighten the border withMexico, toughen criminal sanctionsfor employers who hire illegal immigrants,deny illegal immigrantsfederally funded welfare benefits, andoffer amnesty to any immigrant whoentered the country before 1982. -
Diversity in America
The U.S. Census reports that the top ten countriesof birth for America’s foreign-born populationare (in order): Mexico, China, Philippines, India,Vietnam, Cuba, Korea, Canada, El Salvador andGermany. In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau reportsthat almost 15 million naturalized citizensand more than 20 million foreign-born noncitizenslive in the U.S. -
Terrorist Attacks Prompt Tougher Restrictions
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the U.S. PatriotAct amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to broaden the scope of immigrants ineligible for admission or deportable because of terrorist activities. The new Department of HomelandSecurity replaces the Immigration and Naturalization Service. -
The Struggle Over Illegal Immigrants
President George W. Bush calls for anoverhaul of the immigration laws, proposing a guest worker program thatwould “match willing foreign workerswith willing American employers, when no Americans can be found to fill thejobs.” Immigrants would be authorizedas guest workers for three years, then required to return home. The legislation goes nowhere. The Secure FenceAct of 2006 authorizes construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along the southern border. -
States Enact Tough Laws
Republicans and Democrats agree on the need for a sweeping change in federalimmigration laws, but little is achieved on the controversial issue. In the absenceof federal laws, state legislatures begin to combat illegal immigration with theirown tough laws, such as restricting access to public benefits and driver’s licensesand cracking down on human smuggling.
