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Naturalization Act of 1790
This article of legislation allowed an individual to apply for citizenship if they were a free white person, being of good character, and living in the United States for two years.
http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Naturalization_Act_of_1790/ -
Industrial Revolution Increases Immigration
From the 1820's-1880s, the industrial revolution encouraged many people to immigrate to America. The California Gold Rush was occurring and many people came to take advantages of the opportunity. The Irish were trying to escape the famine. http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/IndustrialRevolution/migration.htm#.WC0i7YSF8-Y -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
This was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. It suspended Chinese immigration for ten years.
http://www.history.com/topics/chinese-exclusion-act -
Statue of Liberty Was dedicated in 1886
President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. This statue not only became a symbol of freedom, but of America's willingness to take in immigrants at the time.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/statue-of-liberty-dedicated -
Ellis Island Opens
Ellis Island opens in 1892, which was a major federal immigration station. 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.
http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island -
Emergency Quota Act of 1921
The first federal law in U.S. history to limit the immigration of Europeans. No more than 3 percent of the total number of immigrants from any specific country already living in the United States in 1910 could migrate to America during any year.
http://www.american-historama.org/1913-1928-ww1-prohibition-era/1921-emergency-quota-act.htm -
Bracero Agreement of 1942
This was an agreement between the U.S. and Mexican governments that permitted Mexican citizens to take temporary agricultural work in the United States. It brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the U.S.
http://braceroarchive.org/about -
Displaced Persons Act of 1948
This act offered hundreds of thousands entry into the United States because President Truman wanted to help the refuge crisis due to WWII
http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/464-displaced-persons-act-of-1948.html -
Hart Cellar Act of 1965
The Hart-Celler Act abolished the national origins quota system that had structured American immigration policy since the 1920s, replacing it with a preference system that focused on immigrants' skills and family relationships with citizens or residents of the U.S. http://library.uwb.edu/static/USimmigration/1965_immigration_and_nationality_act.html -
Immigration Reform Act
In 1986, the government gave amnesty to more than 3 million aliens. Applicants had to prove that they lived and maintained a continuous physical presence in the U.S. since January 1st, 1982. http://library.uwb.edu/static/usimmigration/1986_immigration_reform_and_control_act.html -
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
This created longer mandatory sentences, reclassified less serious crimes as felonies and put tens of thousands more police officers on the streets, according to the Washington Post. It enhances penalties for alien smuggling and reentry after deportation, and increases appropriations for the Border Patrol.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/12/1994-crime-bill-haunts-clinton-and-sanders-as-criminal-justice-reform-rises-to-top-in-democratic-contest/ -
Arizona passes Proposition 200
This is also known as Protect Arizona Now. The law requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and identification before receiving a ballot at the polling place or to get government services. http://civilrights.org/immigration/arizona/ -
Secure Fence Act of 2006
This authorizes the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our Southern border; more vehicle barriers, checkpoints, and lighting to control the border.
https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061026-1.html -
Arizona’s Fair and Legal Employment Act
The law requires all businesses to screen new hires using an online federal database, called E-Verify, so the businesses do not get in trouble hiring undocumented immigrants.
https://www.azag.gov/legal-az-workers-act -
Arizona SB 1070 of 2010
The law requires officers to demand to see immigration documents from an arrested or detained person when there is “reasonable suspicion” that he or she is in the country illegally. It is a highly controversial law.
http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration-laws-and-resources/arizona-immigration-law-s-b-1070.html
