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Chinese Exclusion Act o 1882
Stopped entry of Chinese immigrants into the United States for ten years.That act was the first to establish the federal government's right to restrict immigration based on nationalities. -
Restrictive Acts of 1888 & 1891
They allowed the national government not only to exclude certain individuals - convicts, prostitutes, and insane persons, for example - but also to deport aliens who entered the country in violation of these immigration laws. -
Quota Act of 1921
This act limited the annual number of immigrants from each nationality to 3 percent of the number of foreign-born persons of that nationality who were living in the United States in 1910 -
Immigration Act of 1924 and National Origins Act of 1929
Established a new quota system for each nationality and set a limit on the tatal number of immigrants to be allowed enrty at all (150,000 per year). The quota system that resulted frin these acts served as the basis for U.S. immigration for more that thirty-five years. -
Immigration Act of 1965
The 1965 law had eliminated quotas besed on nations origin. As many as 270,000 immigrants could be admitted each year without regard to nationality, country of origin, or race. No more than 20,000 persons could come from any one country, however. Close relitives of American citizens were given special status, as were aliens with specialized ocupational talent. -
1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act
Prohibited immigrants, including legal immigrants who are not citizens, from receiving most forms of public assistance, including welfare benifits. -
1987-88 - Amnesty Program
From the summer of 1987 to the summer of 1988, illegal aliens who could prove that they had been in this country continuosly for at least five years could apply to obtain temporary legal residency status. -
Immigration Act of 1990
This act raised legal immigration levels by about 40 percent, to 700,000 per year. It stressed family reunification, provided legal status for certain illegal immigration, and stuck down barriers blocking people with certain political beliefs from entry. -
1994 - Proposition 187
It denied public social services, publicly funded health care, and public education to people who were suspected of being illegal aliens. -
Immigration Reform Act of 1996
Forced hundereds of thousands of illegal immigrants and refugees to leave the United States. -
Welfare Reform Act of 1996
Prohibited immigrants, including legal immigrants who are not yet citizens, from recieving most forms of public assistance, including welfare benifits. -
1997 Policy
Many refugees automatically became eligble for permanent legal residence. Other illegal immigrants were allowed to remain in the United States while the government processed their applications for permanent legal residence. Additionally, immigrants were again made eligible for public-assistance benifits.
