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The Naturalization Act
This law limited naturalization to immigrants who were free white persons of good character. It thus excluded American Indians, indentured servants, slaves, free blacks, and Asians. It also provided for citizenship for the children of U.S. citizens born abroad, but specified that the right of citizenship did "not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States." -
The American Republic Party
The American Republican Party was a minor nativist political organization that was launched in New York in June 1843, largely as a protest against immigrant voters and officeholders. Largely drawn from craftsmen and small businessmen, who used their fraternal and trade organizations' symbolism in the party's campaigns, the group's constituency was deeply anti-Catholic and saw their primary foes as Irish immigrants. -
The Naturalization Act
Ushered in a right for blacks to naturalize, overall the Act held only limited promise of equality in the United States; it provided only for the naturalization of whites and persons of “African descent” and continued to exclude Asians and Native Americans from citizenship. Moreover, the law became symbolic for blacks as their claims to legal citizenship were seemingly trumped by social and political subordination and physical backlash. -
The Immigration Act
this act declared that certain classes of individuals were unfit to become American citizens. Those classes included idiots, insane persons, and paupers. Any person who could become a public charge on society was also not allowed to enter. The immigrants who came to the United States carrying a contagious disease were also not permitted entry. Anyone who had been convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, or any other crime such as any activity deemed contrary to the beliefs and standards of society su -
The Naturalization Act
The legislation established the federal government as the arbiter of naturalization policy. It created the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, which provided for the first uniform naturalization laws in the country. Prior to 1906, an alien could be naturalized in any U.S. "court of record." State-level naturalization courts managed proceedings and had varying standards across the country. After September 26, 1906, naturalization could only be done in courts having a seal. -
U.S Border Patrol Created
Congress established the Border Patrol as part of the Immigration Bureau in the Department of Labor through the Labor Appropriation Act of 1924. -
The Refugee Act
The main objectives of the act were to create a new definition of refugee based on the one created at the UN Convention and Protocol on the Status of Refugees, raise the limitation from 17,400 to 50,000 refugees admitted each fiscal year, provide emergency procedures for when that number exceeds 50,000, and to establish the Office of U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. -
The Immingration Reform & Control Act
Required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status;
Made it illegal to hire or recruit illegal immigrants knowingly;
Legalized certain seasonal agricultural illegal immigrants, and;
Legalized illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously with the penalty of a fine, back taxes due, and admission of guilt; candidates were required to prove that they were not guilty of crimes, that they were in the country before January -
The Immigration Act
The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the limits on legal immigration to the United States, revised all grounds for exclusion and deportation, authorized temporary protected status to aliens of designated countries, revised and established new nonimmigrant admission categories, revised and extended the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, and revised naturalization authority and requirements. -
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
Broadens the definition of “aggravated felony” and increases the number of crimes classified as such so immigrants could be deported for a wider range of crimes. The law is applied retroactively. The act also increased the number of Border Patrol agents and established an “expedited removal” procedure to deport immigrants without a formal hearing. -
Proposition 200
It required people to: a) persons to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote; (b) voters to present a photo identification before receiving a ballot at the polling place; and (c) state and local agencies to verify the identity and eligibility, based on immigration status, of applicants for non-federally mandated public benefits. -
The REAL ID Act
The REAL ID Act of 2005 requires states to verify a person’s immigration status or citizenship before issuing licenses, expands restrictions on refugees requesting asylum, and limits the habeas corpus rights of immigrants. -
The Secure the Fence Act
The Secure Fence Act of 2006’s goal is to help secure America’s borders to decrease illegal entry, drug trafficking, and security threats by building 700 miles (1,100 km) of physical barriers along the Mexico-United States border. Additionally, the law authorizes more vehicle barriers, checkpoints, and lighting as well as authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to increase the use of advanced technology like cameras, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles to reinforce infrastructure. -
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
An American immigration policy that allows certain illegal immigrants who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. DACA does confer non-immigrant legal status but does not provide a path to citizenship. It was started by the Obama administration in June 2012. -
SB1070
SB1070 U.S. federal law requires all aliens over the age of 14 who remain in the United States for longer than 30 days to register with the U.S. government, and to have registration documents in their possession at all times; violation of this requirement is a federal misdemeanor crime. The Arizona act additionally made it a state misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the required documents.
