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US Immigration
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Naturalization of 1790
In order to become a US citizen the immigrant had to have lived in the US for two years. -
Naturalization Act of 1795 Adds Rules to the Citizenship Process
increased the period of residence required for citizenship from 2 to 5 years. It also required applicants to declare publicly their intention to become citizens of the United States and to renounce any allegiance to a foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty 3 years before admission as citizens. Immigrants who had ‘borne any hereditary title, or been of the order of nobility’ were also required to renounce that status. -
Alien and Sedition Acts Enacted; US President Given Power to Punish and Deport Immigrants; Residency Requirement for Naturalization Increases to 14 Years
increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from five to fourteen years, authorized the president to imprison or deport aliens considered 'dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States' and restricted speech critical of the government. These laws were designed to silence and weaken the Democratic-Republican Party. -
The Naturalization Act of 1798
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 -
Congress Reduces Naturalization Residency Requirements to Five Years
Jefferson wanted to get rid of the residency requirement. Congress, believing residency was still a key element of citizenship, only lowered the requirement to the previous length of five years. -
Foreign Slave Trade Becomes Illegal; 50,000 Slaves Become First "Illegal Aliens" in the US
made that trade illegal, but did not interfere with either the domestic slave trade or slavery itself. The approximately 50,000 slaves smuggled into the United States after 1808 became the first illegal immigrants -
Irish Immigration to US Begins along with Anti-Irish Sentiments in US
5 million Irish immigrants came to the United States. Their presence provoked a strong reaction among certain native-born Americans, known as nativists, who denounced the Irish for their social behavior, their impact on the economy, and their Catholic religion -
American "Nativists" Gain Political Power and Advocate 21-Year Residence Requirement for Naturalization
limitation of officeholding to native Americans, the restriction of immigration, and educational reforms -
Supreme Court Rules in New York v. Miln That States May Take Precautionary Measures Against the Importation of "Paupers, Vagabonds, Convicts, and Infectious Articles
to provide precautionary measures against the moral pestilence of paupers, vagabonds, and possibly convicts, as it is to guard against the physical pestilence which may arise from unsound or infectious articles imported, or from a ship, the crew of which may be laboring under an infectious disease -
Naturalizations of Germans and Irish Are Expedited and Offered Free of Charge During Election Time
wishing to be naturalized should apply to the German committee of Tammany Hall, where they would receive their citizenship papers gratis -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo Results in United States Acquiring Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and Parts of Utah and Nevada
ended the Mexican-American War allowing the United States to acquire Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and parts of Utah and Nevada from Mexico. 80,000 Mexicans living in the territory are allowed to remain and receive citizenship. By 1849, the English-speaking population of California reached 100,000 compared to 13,000 of Mexican ancestry -
Supreme Court Rules That Congress Alone Can Regulate Immigration
ruling that: 1) although the Constitution said nothing about immigration directly, it was clearly 'foreign commerce,' which the Constitution explicitly reserved to Congress; and 2) Congress's jurisdiction was preemptive so that even in the absence of any federal legislation, state governments could not regulate immigration -
President Lincoln Acts to Prohibit the "Coolie Trade"
legislation simply outlawed any shipment of Chinese subjects 'known as 'coolies' abroad 'to be held to service or labor.' Virtually all Chinese subjects leaving China were known as 'coolies.' -
Homestead Act of 1862 Passed to Encourage Westward Migration
U.S. Congress offered to sell public lands to citizens and to immigrants at the cost of $1.25 per acre, or less. The law was designed to attract people to settle vast stretches of territory in the Midwest and West, and it was highly effective. The promise of land at a low price attracted hundreds of thousands of people from the East and from Europe -
First Congressional Attempt to Centralize Immigration Control; A Commissioner of Immigration Is Appointed by the US President
First Congressional attempt to centralize control of immigration.
a. A Commissioner of Immigration was appointed by the President to serve under the authority of the Secretary of State.
b. Authorized immigrant labor contracts whereby would-be immigrants would pledge their wages to pay for transportation -
Naturalization Act of 1870 Extends Naturalization to Former Slaves
After the Civil War, the Naturalization Act of 1870 extended the right of naturalization to former slaves, making aliens of African birth and persons of African descent also eligible -
State Immigration Laws Become Unconstitutional; Congress Begins to Bring Immigration Under Direct Federal Control for the First Time
that all immigration laws of the seaboard states were unconstitutional because they usurped the exclusive power vested in Congress to regulate foreign commerce. In response to Henderson, states abolished their immigration commissions and port authorities -
Chinese Exclusion Act Passes and Immigration Exclusion Era Begins
prevented what had been building as a massive and sustained immigration of Chinese laborers and limits for those immigrants who had not otherwise been excluded. During those years a federal burocracy was created to control immigration and immigrants -
Anarchist Exclusion Act Enacted; Exclusion of Immigrants Based on Political Ideology Begins
foreign extraction,' sparked congressional action to add anarchists to the exclusion list. The 1903 law provided for exclusion and deportation of alien anarchists -- those foreigners who believe in or 'advocate the overthrow by force of violence of the Government of the United States or of all governments or of all forms of law, or the assassination of public officials.' The 1903 Act also both bolstered public health exclusions and provided for limited exceptions for certain diseased aliens -
Naturalization Act Creates Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization
The procedure began with the filing of a declaration of intention, which recorded the applicant's oath to the clerk of the court that it was his or her bona fide intention to become a citizen of the United States, to reside permanently therein, and to renounce all allegiances to other nations. Within a period of 2 to 7 years after filing the declaration, the applicant could petition the court for citizenship, presenting at this time the affidavits of two witnesses with personal knowledge of the -
Mexican Revolution Drives Thousands of Mexicans across the US-Mexican Border
Development of mining and industry in northern Mexico, as well as building of north-south railroad lines, attracted large numbers of Mexicans to the northern part of the country in the late nineteenth century -
Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization Created and Moved to the Department of Labor
The administrative changes first transferred the Bureau of Immigration from the Treasury to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor (1903), expanded the functions of the Bureau into a Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (1906), and moved the Bureau to the Department of Labor when the latter was separated from Commerce and divided it into separate Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization, each with its own commissioner -
irst Quota Act Becomes Law and Limits the Number of Immigrants from Certain Countries
Being sponsored by the American Legion and American Federation of Labor, it became a law over Wilson's veto... It limited the number of immigrants who could enter this country from Europe, Australia, Africa, New Zealand, Asiatic Turkey, Persia, and certain islands of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to 3 percent -
US Border Patrol Established with Labor Appropriation Act of 1924
officially establishing the U.S. Border Patrol for the purpose of securing the borders between inspection stations. In 1925 its duties were expanded to patrol the seacoast. Officers were quickly recruited for the new positions. The Border Patrol expanded to 450 officers -
US Labor Secretary Estimates That over 1,000,000 Mexicans Are in United States Illegally
From figures available by the United States Department of Labor, the five Southwestern states visited have a Mexican population estimated as follows: Texas, 555,000; California, 350,000; New Mexico, 180,000; Colorado, 70,000; Arizona, 60,000. No longer, however, can it be said that the Mexicans are confined to the Southwest. They are found in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, lowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania and even New York. They are in Wyoming, Montana -
Bracero Program Brings 5,000,000 Mexican Temporary Laborers to Work in US Farms and Railroads in a 22-Year Period
World War II had drained enough US manpower to force Washington to look abroad for recruits to support a wartime economy. Bilateral talks resulted in a special program that allowed migrant laborers to work on US farms and railroads. Regulated by both governments, this agreement ended the system of private labor recruitment and introduced a new phase of negotiation. After having tried to dissuade Mexicans from migrating for half a century, the US government now began to organize and channel huge -
Magnuson Immigration Act of 1943 Allows Chinese to Become US Citizens
This bill made it possible for Chinese to become naturalized citizens and gave them an annual quota of 105 immigrants... As the annual quota of 105 immigrants indicates, America’s immigration policy was restrictive and particularly discriminatory against Chinese and other Asians -
Armed Forces Naturalization Act Allows Veterans Who Served Active-Duty to Become Naturalized Citizens
The Armed Forces Naturalization Act gave US military veterans who served in active-duty capacity in Vietnam or other "military hostilities" the ability to become naturalized citizens -
Cuba Allows 125,000 Cubans to Illegally Depart for the United States
the Cuban government allowed 125,000 Cubans to illegally depart for the United States from the port of Mariel, an incident known as the 'Mariel boatlift.' In 1984, the United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement to resume normal immigration, and to return to Cuba those persons who had arrived during the boatlift who were 'excludable' under U.S. law -
Census Estimates 2 to 4 Million Immigrants in the United States Illegally with about Half from Mexico
undocumented Mexican population in 1980 was in the 1-2 million range, with the total number from all countries falling in the range of 2-4 million... Of the undocumented present and counted in 1980, 941,000 entered during 1975-1980; 576,000 entered during 1970-1974; and 540,000 entered before 1970... Finally, the estimates for 1980 show a high proportion of recent arrivals, and very few who entered the United States prior to 1960 -
Bring Them Home Alive Act Grants Refugee Status to Foreigners Who Return Living Vietnam or Korean War POWs or MIAs
Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, or child of such alien) who: (1) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and (2) personally delivers into U.S. custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. -
Terrorist Attacks Prompt US Department of Defense to Expand Military Support along the Borders
The military generally provides support to law enforcement and immigration authorities along the southern border. Reported escalations in criminal activity and illegal immigration, however, have prompted some lawmakers to reevaluate the extent and type of military support that occurs in the border region -
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act Updates Immigration Databases and Travel Document Requirements
A requirement that the immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) make interoperable all its internal databases, so that all information about a particular alien may be accessed with a single search -
President Obama Signs Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to Allow Some Undocumented Immigrants Who Came to the United States as Children to Stay in the Country
Under the change, the Department of Homeland Security will no longer initiate the deportation of illegal immigrants who came to the United States before age 16, have lived here for at least five years, and are in school, are high school graduates or are military veterans in good standing. The immigrants must also be under 30 and have clean criminal records -
US Supreme Court Upholds Centerpiece of 2010 Arizona Immigration Law, Rejects Other Provisions
he Supreme Court on Monday delivered a split decision on Arizona's tough 2010 immigration law, upholding its most hotly debated provision but blocking others on the grounds that they interfered with the federal government's role in setting immigration policy. -
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act Adds Immigrants to Protected Classes
provides a temporary visa and creates a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants who are the victims of domestic abuse. The idea being that immigrants who are subject to domestic violence don’t report it for fear of being deported or are abused though the threat of deportation.
