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The Naturalization Act of 1790
"This act restricted citizenship to any alien, being a free white person who had been in the U.S. for two years. In effect, it left out indentured servants, slaves, and most women. This implied that black and, later, Asian immigrants were not eligible to be naturalized, but it said nothing about the citizenship status of non-white persons born on American soil" (Imai). Source:
http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Naturalization_Act_of_1790/ -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
This was the first monumental law limiting immigration into the United States. It "suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared the Chinese as ineligible for naturalization. Chinese workers already in the country challenged the constitutionality of the discriminatory acts, but their efforts failed" (History.com Staff). Source:
http://www.history.com/topics/chinese-exclusion-act -
Statue of Liberty
When the Statue of Liberty was complete and made visible in 1886, it was supposed to represent freedom; however, some Americans viewed it as an anti-immigration symbol while immigrants saw it as a symbol of hope. Source:
http://www.statue-de-la-liberte.com/en/History-of-the-statue-of-Liberty.php -
Ellis Island
Ellis Island opened in 1892 as a gateway for millions of immigrants to pass through. According to history.com,"it has been estimated that close to 40 percent of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors to Ellis Island" (History.com Staff). This was a very important part of immigration history because we had immigrants pouring in from all over the world escaping their homeland in hope of a better life here in America. Source:
http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island -
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
"The Supreme Court ruled that a child born in the United States of Chinese citizens, who had at the time a permanent domicile and residence in the United States and who were carrying on business there other than for the Chinese government, automatically became a U.S. citizen.This decision established an important precedent in its interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment" (Wikipedia). Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wong_Kim_Ark -
Arizona Statehood
In 1912, Arizona officially became a state. In turn, this created the divide between Arizona and Mexico, which is where the wall is built to help keep out immigrants from crossing over into our country illegally. This division is a symbol of divide in our country and where a lot of our immigration problems have taken place today. -
Immigration Act of 1917
"The Immigration Act of 1917 was the first federal law to impose a general restriction on immigration in the form of a literacy test"(Bromberg). A goal of this act was to restrict immigrants that were deemed undesirable from entering into our country. Source:
http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/588-immigration-act-of-1917.html -
The U.S. Border Patrol was created
"Since its 1924 creation, the U.S. Border Patrol has served as the primary federal law-enforcement agency responsible for the prevention and detection of illegal immigrants, drugs, and contraband entering the United States along both the Mexican and Canadian borders. After September 11, 2001, a new combined agency called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was formed" (Klenowski). Source:
http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/385-us-border-patrol.html -
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
President Clinton signed this bill which addressed our "upgrades needed for border patrol enforcers, equipment, and the overall patrolling process" (Germain & Stevens). This bill was also designed to help increase interior enforcement, as well as address employment programs/ eligibility issues. I feel this is when we started to crack down on immigration in our country. Source:
http://library.uwb.edu/static/USimmigration/1996_illegal_immigration_reform_and_immigrant_responsibility_act.html -
September 11, 2001
This traumatic event changed our country forever. Our country has "tightened up" and enforced stronger tactics to help prevent something like this from ever happening again. Stereotypes about Muslims have become worse since that day. However, it is not just Muslims we do not want entering our country, it's any person that looks suspicious or dangerous, which has led to the controversial racial profiling in our country. 9/11 forever changed the way we now view people from other countries. -
Minuteman Project
The Minutemen Project was all about finding volunteers to patrol the U.S. Mexico border from illegal immigrants because the government was lacking to do so. "The Minuteman Project was founded by Jim Gilchrist and Chris Simcox, the name derives from the Minutemen, militiamen who fought in the American Revolution. The Minuteman Project describes itself as a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border" (Wikipedia). Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuteman_Project -
Jan Brewer signs AZ SB 1070
This law was very controversial because some saw this as supporting racial profiling, even President Obama was against it. The law is that, "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" (Wikipedia). Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_SB_1070 -
Obama Administration- Policy Change
Obama stated that we will, "stop deporting young illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children if they meet certain requirements" (Cohen). Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/politics/immigration/ -
President Elect Donald Trump
Donald Trump's solution to immigration in our country is to just build a bigger wall. Business insider quotes Trump stating, "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. (Trump). It will be interesting to see what Trump really does with immigration over these next four years and how it affects our country and the history of immigration. Source:
http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-immigration-2016-9 -
Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Bid for 7th Term in Arizona
According to New York Times, "Sheriff Arpaio’s bid for re-election as sheriff of Maricopa County was undone by Latino voters who responded to his hard-line position on illegal immigration, which included workplace raids, frequent traffic stops and harsh talk" (Santos). A quote from Carlos Garcia,executive director of Puente, stated “For us, what is most important now is to undo the damage and culture of hate that he has brought upon this county.” Source:
http://www.nytimes.com
