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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". -
Period: to
1880 and 1920
One of the heaviest periods of immigration in American history 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. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Was passed because the California Gold Rush and railroad building had attracted many immigrants. It said that no Chinese laborer could enter the United States for 10 years. -
Quota Act of 1921
Congress acts up quotas favoring immigrants from the NW 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
Introduced a quota system by country: Each country's immigrants were limited to 2% of foreign-born residents from that country listed in the US census of 1980. Favored groups that had been in the US for a long time. -
Immigration Reform Act
Driven by two principles: reunifying families and giving priority to certain skills. It also set up annual limits: 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Penalizes employers for knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants, but it gives amnesty to so undocumented immigrants, allowing them a path to eventually apply for citizenship. -
Immigration Act of 1990
Said that no country could account for more than 7% of total immigrants. It also considered a person's education and skills. It 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
George W. Bush committed himself to backing a bill to address all immigration issues. His bill proposed to fill short-term labor needs through a guest worker program and strengthened border control. It also would have fined undocumented immigrants and required them to fulfill certain obligations before they could apply for citizenship. In late June 2007, the Senate voted the bill down, ending any chance of solving the immigration issue during Bush's presidency.
