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1790
Congress passed a law defining who could become a citizen if a person was not born here: Citizenship was possible only for someone who was "a free white person." As that term was then understood, this barred any African or Asian immigrant from becoming a citizen. -
Period: to
1880 and 1920
One of the heaviest period of immigration in American history came between this time period when some 25 million immigrants arrived. Most came from the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe-parts of the world that were unfamiliar to many Americans. They saw these new immigrants as very different from themselves. -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
It said that no Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. (Chinese professionals were still allowed to immigrate.) Renewed several times, the act was in force until World War II. In that conflict, China was an American ally and Congress repealed the law. -
Quota Act of 1921
Congress set up quotas favoring immigrants from northwestern Europe; the Immigration Act of 1924 expands the quota system: immigration from any country is limited to 2% of its total numbers in the 1890 census. -
Immigration Act of 1924
It introduced a quota system by country: Each country's immigrants were limited to 2% of foreign-born residents from that country listed in the U.S. Census of 1890. This formula favored groups that had been in the United States for a long time. During the next 40 years, immigration dropped sharply. -
Immigration Reform Act of 1965
This abolished the quota system based on national origin. When he signed the reform bill, President Lyndon B. Johnson referred to the old system as "un-American." It was driven by two principles: reunifying families and giving priority to certain skills. It set up annual limits: 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
This had a dual purpose. First, Reagan wanted to slow illegal immigration by punishing employers who knowingly hired undocumented immigrants. Second, he wanted to offer a way for long-term, undocumented immigrants to become legal. If they could show they had entered the United States before January 1982 and lived here continuously, they could apply for amnesty. Eligible workers could be granted temporary and then permanent residency. After five years, they could apply for citizenship. -
Immigration Act of 1990
It said that no country could account for more than 7% of total immigrants. It also considered a person's education and skills. In addition, the 1990 law set up special categories for war refugees or close relatives of American citizens. -
Immigration Reform Act of 1996
It increased the border patrol staff and stiffened penalties for creating false citizenship papers or smuggling undocumented workers. -
2007
President George W. Bush committed himself to backing a bill to address all immigration issues. It proposed to fill short-term labor needs througha guest worker program and strengthened border control. Yet Bush argued that his bill was also realistic because it didn't propose to track down and deport millions of undocumented workers who were already here. It also would have fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship.
