|
US Immigration
Laws History: The
Ellis Island Building
|
US Immigration Laws History:
Immigration Laws
Immigration to the United States into three major waves.
Early immigration (1700s - 1850), Second wave (1850 - 1970) and
Recent immigration (1970 - present).
US Immigration Laws were passed during each
of these periods and the laws reflected the
government policy of the periodDue to the massive
influx of immigrants in the late 1800's Laws
were passed to regulate and restrict
immigration to the US.
The Ellis Island center in New
York opened on January 1, 1892 where
immigrants from Europe entered the United
States
The
Angel Island
Station
in San
Francisco Bay opened on January 21, 1910
where immigrants from China, Japan and Asia,
entered the United States.
US History of Immigration Laws Timeline: Facts for kids
Interesting US History of Immigration Laws Timeline and facts for kids are detailed below.
These important federal laws determine who may enter the United
States, how long they can stay, their status, their rights and
duties whilst they are in the United States, and how they can become
resident aliens or American citizens. The US History of Immigration
Laws is told in a
factual sequence consisting of Fact Sheet with a series of short facts providing a
simple and fast overview of US Immigration Laws History. For
additional facts and information refer to the
Push and Pull Factors
of Immigration.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline: Laws and Facts for kids
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 1:
1789 -
Under the U.S. Constitution, the U.S.
Congress has complete authority over immigration.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 2:
1819 -
The Immigration
Act of 1819 provided standards for vessels bringing
immigrants. Ship captains had to provide customs
officials with a list of immigrants detailing the age,
sex and occupation of passengers, where they came from
and their destination. Passengers ill with contagious
diseases had to be quarantined.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 3:
1848 -
Articles VIII and IX of the
Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo granted U.S. citizenship to
Mexicans living in the territory ceded by Mexico to the
United States. The treaty explicitly guaranteed Mexican
Americans "the right to their property, language, and
culture."
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 4:
1875 -
The Page Act was the
first restrictive federal immigration law and prohibited
the entry of immigrants considered "undesirable".
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 5:
1882 -
The
Chinese Exclusion Act
banned the immigration of laborers from China for ten
years
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 6:
1882 -
The Immigration Act
of 1882 restricted immigrants from Europe and made
several categories of immigrants ineligible entry into
the United States. It also imposed a 'head tax' of
50 cents on all immigrants landing at US ports
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 7:
1885 -
The
Alien Contract
Labor Law (the Foran Act)
prohibited any company or individual from bringing
unskilled foreigners (aliens) into the United States
under contract to work for them. The only exceptions are
those immigrants brought to perform domestic service and
skilled workmen needed to help establish a new trade or
industry in the US
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 8:
1886 -
The
Statue of
Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor and would
become the famous landmark for all European immigrants
on the last leg of their journey from Europe to Ellis Island
and a new life in America. The picture depicts
immigrants with the Statue of Liberty in the distance,
many of whom would be concerned that would pass the
tests that would enable them to enter the country.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 9:
1890 -
The individual States turned over the
control of immigration to the Federal Government.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 10:
1891 -
The 1891 Act establishes the Office
of the Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury
Department imposing stringent standards of
admissibility. The law bans “mentally disturbed persons,
persons suffering from a ‘loathsome or contagious’
disease, paupers, persons convicted of a felony or
infamous crime or misdemeanor of moral turpitude and
polygamists."
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 11:
1892 -
The Act of 1891 increased government
regulation of immigration and established a
Commissioner of Immigration in the Treasury Department
responsible carrying out carrying out the inspection and
deportation of immigrants
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 12:
1892 -
The first Federal immigration center
was opened January 1, 1892 on
Ellis
Island where European immigrants were subjected to medical and legal
examinations
detailed in the
Ellis Island
Inspection Process.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 13:
1892 -
The
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
was extended by the 1892 Geary
Act
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 14:
1903 -
Following the
President
McKinley Assassination in 1901 by the anarchist Leon
Czolgosz, Congress enacted the Anarchist Exclusion Act,
prohibiting the entry of people judged to be anarchists
and political extremists.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact
15: 1906 -
The Naturalization Act of 1906
establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization
in the Commerce Department to standardizes
naturalization procedures. The law also requires that
some knowledge of the English language is a requirement
for citizenship.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 16:
1907 -
The
Immigration Act of
1907 was part of a series of reforms aimed at further
restricting the increasing number of immigrants. The
Dillingham
Commission was formed
in response to growing political concern about the
effects of immigration in the US. The subsequent
Dillingham Commission report discriminated between
Old and
New Immigration which led to further stringent
and specific immigration restrictions.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 17:
1910 -
The
Angel
Island Immigration Station
opened where immigrants from China, Japan and Asia were
inspected before entry was allowed into the United
States.
● In 1910 a
national system was formed specifically to regulate
Asian immigration
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 18:
1915 -
The
Mexican Revolution started in
1910 and many Mexicans sought escape to America. In 1915 US Congress Authorized "Mounted
Inspectors" along the US-Mexico Border
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 19:
1917 -
The Immigration Act of 1917 (aka the
Barred Zone Act) restricted immigration from Eastern
Asia, except for Japan and the Philippines, by creating
an "Asiatic Barred Zone". The law also introduced a
reading test for all immigrants over 14 years of age
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 20:
1921 -
The
1921 Emergency
Quota Act (or
percentage laws) used of quota system to establish
limits and restricted the number of immigrants from a
given country (3% of the number of residents from that
same country living in the United States based on the
1910 U.S. Census)
Continued...
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline: Laws and Facts for kids
US History of Immigration Laws Timeline: Facts for kids
The History of Immigration Laws and Timeline continue with facts about
laws for kids.
Discover, facts, and dates about important federal laws that
dictated the emigration policy of the United States.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline: Laws and Facts for kids
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 21:
1922 -
The Married Woman's Act, aka the
Cable Act, stated that any female US Citizen who married
an alien ineligible for citizenship would then lose her
own citizenship
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 21:
1924 -
The Border Patrol was established to
combat smuggling and illegal immigration. Border
stations are established to formally admit Mexican
workers - see
Mexican
Immigration
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 22:
1924 -
The
National Origins
Act of 1924, part of the
Immigration Act of 1924, or
Johnson-Reed Act, restricted the number of immigrants
from a given country to 2% of the number of residents
from that same country living in the United States - the
'Golden Door' to America was shut. 87% of permits go to
immigrants from Britain, Ireland, Germany, and
Scandinavia
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 23:
1930 -
Congress passed an act providing for
the admission of women who were married to US citizens
before 1924.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 24:
1934 -
The Tydings-McDuffie Act provided for
Philippine independence, and changed the status of
Filipinos from American citizens to aliens
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 25:
1940 -
The outbreak of WW2 led to the Alien
Registration Act that required the registration and
fingerprinting of all aliens in the United States over
the age of 14 years old. Another objective of the laws was to undermine the American Communist Party.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 26:
1943 -
The Magnusan Act repealed the 1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 27:
1943 -
The Bracero Program brought 5,000,000
temporary Mexican Laborers to Work in US farms
and railroads in a 22-Year period to help the economy during
and after WW2
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 28:
1945 -
The War Brides and Fiancées Acts
were laws that allowed an estimated 1,000,000 American Soldiers to
bring their foreign spouses to America.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 29:
1948 -
The Displaced Persons Act allowed
people uprooted by WW2 to immigrate to United States.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 30:
1952 -
The McCarran-Walter bill reorganized
the structure of immigration laws.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 31:
1965 -
The Hart-Celler Act abolished
nation-of-origin restrictions.
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 32:
1975 -
The Indochina Migration and Refugee
Assistance Act. These laws allowed Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians
recruited by the US in the war against communism were
admitted to the US as displaced citizens
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 33:
1980 -
The Refugee Act of 1980 allowed
persecuted Individuals to seek asylum in the United
States
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 34:
1986 -
The Immigration Reform and Control
Act (IRCA) granted Legal Status to qualifying Immigrants
who entered the US illegally before January 1, 1982
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 35:
1987 -
The Amerasian Homecoming Act allowed
children of U.S. servicemen and Vietnamese women
Children to immigrate to the United States
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 36:
1990 -
The Immigration Act of 1990 revised
all grounds for exclusion and deportation and increased
the limits on legal immigration to the United States
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 37:
1996 -
Anti-terrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act tightens immigration to protect against
terrorism following the attacks on Oklahoma City and the
World Trade Center
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 38:
2002 -
The Enhanced Border Security and Visa
Entry Reform Act were laws passed following the
9/11 terrorist attacks,
representing the most comprehensive immigration-related
response to the continuing terrorist threat America
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 39:
2005 -
The REAL ID Act Expanded Laws for
Asylum and Deportation of Foreigners for Terrorist
Activity
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 40:
2006 -
The Secure Fence Act authorized
fencing along the US-Mexican Border and authorized the
use of surveillance technology
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline Fact 41:
2013 -
Violence Against Women
Reauthorization Act provided for a temporary visa for
undocumented immigrants who are the victims of domestic
abuse
US History
of Immigration Laws Timeline: Laws and Facts for kids
DISCLAIMER:
This website and any information contained herein
are intended for educational and informational
purposes only and should not be construed as legal
advice. Seek competent legal counsel from an
Immigration lawyer for advice on any legal matter.
Push and Pull Factors
For visitors interested in the subject of
immigration refer to our website on
Push and Pull Factors
of Immigration which provides details of why people left their
homes in various countries and moved to the United States.
US Immigration Laws History:
United States History for Kids - Video of US Presidents
The article on the
US Immigrant Laws History provides detailed facts and a summary of the
most important events during the history of
immigration and migrants in the
United States
- a crash course in
American History and Immigration laws. The following video will
give you additional important facts, history and dates about the
personal and political lives of all the US Presidents.
US Immigration Laws History
●
Interesting Facts about US Immigration Laws History for kids
●
Summary of US Immigration Laws History
●
The US Immigration Laws History, major
events in US history
● United States
Laws and History of migrants
●
Fast, fun, interesting
facts
about important laws
●
Foreign & Domestic
policies - US Immigration Laws History
● US Immigration Laws History for schools,
homework, kids and children |
