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The Naturalization Act of 1790
The Naturalization Act of 1790 establishes a uniform rule of naturalization and a two-year residency requirement for aliens who are "free white persons" of "good moral character" (March 26, 1790). Just like today immigrants need to be law abiding and also there is a time limit on which they can stay. -
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Alien and Seditions Acts
Considered one of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Naturalization Act of 1798 permits Federalist President John Adams to deport foreigners deemed to be dangerous and increases the residency requirements to 14 years to prevent immigrants, who predominantly voted for the Republican Party, from becoming citizens (June 25, 1798). There are laws to deprot dangerous immigrants still in place. The current President and his administration is trying to make it a priority to deport dangerous imigrants. -
1840's
Crop failures in Germany, social turbulence triggered by the rapid industrialization of European society, political unrest in Europe, and the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1851) lead to a new period of mass immigration to the United States. I thought it would be relevant to include other immigrants so that they are not left out. It was a issue for many cultures upon migrating to this country. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War and extends citizenship to the approximately 80,000 Mexicans living in Texas, California, and the American Southwest. I think this is relevant to the immigration issues today, because we still have people migrating here from Mexico. -
Undocumented Mexican-American Labor
The first large-scale use of undocumented Mexican-American labor came about during the 1880s as industrialists began to construct a railroad to connect Mexico and the United States. The first train crossed the border on August 2nd, 1882, but thousands of undocumented railroad workers crossed the border first. Just as today they still come looking for work and make a living doing jobs most dont want. -
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution sent tens of thousands of Mexican migrant workers to the United States, as the economy south of the border changed and the economy north of the border entered a more progressive, worker-centered era. Still to this day many come looking for work and they have to cross the border to get here to look for a better life. The economy here is a lot better than there. http://civilliberty.about.com/od/immigrantsrights/tp/History-of-Illegal-Immigration.htm -
Adios!!!
As the declining U.S. economy led non-Latino workers to fight for jobs, the first round of Mexican deportations forcibly sent millions of "illegal" immigrants—including between 500,000 and two million U.S. citizens of Latino ancestry—to Mexico. The anti-immigrant hysteria generated during the Great Depression helped defuse the political time bomb of mass unemployment in the U.S. and led directly to the mass deportation of Mexicans. Between 250,000 and 350,000 Mexican workers and their families. -
Bracero Program and World War II
Mass deportation opened up job opportunities for desperate non-Mexican workers during the Great Depression, but World War II created millions of vacancies, particularly in the agricultural industry. The U.S. government's Bracero Program attempted to resolve some of these issues by importing Mexican migrant workers to perform many of the duties previously performed by men serving overseas. The program worked out so well that the government continued to operate it until 1964. -
Operation Wetback
In 1949 the Border Patrol seized nearly 280,000 illegal immigrants. By 1953, the numbers had grown to more than 865,000, and the U.S. government felt pressured to do something about the onslaught of immigration. What resulted was Operation Wetback, devised in 1954 under the supervision of new commissioner of the Immigration and Nationalization Service, -
The Immigration and Naturalization Act
In October of 1965, amendments to the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) repealed the national origins quota system. Under the old system, a foreign country was allowed 2 percent of its total population to immigrate to the United States. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
By 1986, some three million undocumented immigrants had come to reside in the United States. President Ronald Reagan, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and the congressional leadership worked together to grant amnesty to these immigrants in a bill that simultaneously introduced stricter penalties for employers who hire undocumented immigrants. -
NAFTA
The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), coupled with the Mexican economic collapse of 1994, brought an estimated 13 million new undocumented immigrants to the United States over the next 15 years. This was supposed to help the bordering country's economys. -
Clinton and Mexico
Clinton becomes the first president to visit Mexico since Jimmy Carter in 1979. He promises Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo that he will avoid "mass deportations" under the U.S. immigration policy. He granted amnesty for many immigrants. -
SB1070
The passage of Arizona SB 1070, which allows law enforcement officials who have not been trained in immigration policy to demand papers from any Arizona residents they deem suspicious, is generally regarded as one of the most blatant examples of racial profiling legislation in U.S. history. -
DREAM ACT
The DREAM Act is the economic stimulus our country need. Immigrants contribute to the economy which in turn will bring jobs for all. Contributions to this time line are sighted with great admiration by Espinosa, P. (n.d.). The border. [0]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/ and also Head, T. (n.d.). About.com. Retrieved from http://civilliberty.about.com/od/immigrantsrights/tp/History-of-Illegal-Immigration.htm
