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First English Colony is Settled
In December of 1606, 144 Englishmen left home to establish a colony in Virginia. When they settled in Jamestown, these men became the first American immigrants.
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African Slaves are imported to Jamestown
About twenty Africans are brought into the new British colony by boat. The men and women were captives of a Portuguese slave ship, but were removed after their original ship encountered the "White Lion"; an English warship. They are the first slaves to be brought to the new world.
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The Transportation Act of 1718
The first 27 of about 50,000 English convicts who committed minor crimes were sent to America. They were to become servants in the New World as a form of punishment less severe than hanging. It was seen by the British as a way to empty prisons and to rid the country of thieves.
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Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary, immigrates to New Yorkk
After being orphaned at the age of 13 and working as a clerk for years to make ends meet, a young Hamilton was sent to the United States in order to further his education. Hundreds of years later, we have an immigrant to thank for many things, such as the Coast Guard, our financial system, and the New York Post.
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Naturalization Act of 1795
In order to become an American citizen, a person had to be white, and have "renounced their allegiance to their previous state/sovereignty by name, lived in the United States for five years at least, behave as a man of good moral character, and renounced any title they possessed in the previous states". If they were approved, their offspring would become citizens regardless of where they were born.
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The Irish Potato Famine
Food shortages in Ireland caused the first massive wave of immigration to the United States. However, the Irish people faced a much more difficult life than they believed they would; they were discriminated against and lived in squalor as they tried to make ends meet in a new world that did not accept them.
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Homestead Act
Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20th in order to fairly distribute government lands. This caused a new wave of immigrants to the United States, since anyone who was a citizen or intending to become a citizen could claim 160 acres of land so long as they lived there for five years and paid a small fee.
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Expatriation Act of 1907
Congress declared that American women who married immigrants had to assume their husband's nationality, and therefore lose their citizenship, even if they were born in the United States. In order to become a citizen again, the woman must divorce her husband. This was done in order to prevent immigrants from becoming citizens by marriage. The act was repealed in 1922.
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Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066
Approximately 127,000 people found to be of Japanese were relocated to work camps in the U.S. due to fear that they were "still loyal to their home country". This paranoia against immigrants has continued almost one hundred years later, but the fear has spread against other countries of origin and religious affiliations, such as Mexicans, Muslims, and Russians.
The last internment camp closed in March of 1946, and the prisoners were given $20,000 each in reparation. -
Immigration and Nationality Act is amended
The Hart-Celler Act replaced the previous immigration system with a system of preference; immigrants' skills as well as relations with American citizens were focused on, and a limit was put on allowed visas per year for anyone that was not closely related to an American citizen.
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The September 11 Attacks
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11th, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists and crashed into the northern Twin Tower. The southern tower was hit at 9:03 a.m., and collapsed at 9:59. The northern tower collapsed half an hour later.
Since then, security measures have increased in airports due to fear of a similar tragedy, and so has discrimination and fear of Muslim immigrants.
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Patriot Act
In the wake of the September 11th attacks, George W. Bush enacted the Patriot Act into law. The Act allows certain government officials to investigate any person(s) who they feel may be involved in terrorist organizations or activity, and harsher restrictions were put onto immigration policies.
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The State of Arizona Enacts SB 1070
The "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" allows police officers to demand the citizenship papers of any person(s) suspected of being in the country illegally. This caused upset among those who felt that the Bill allowed officers to discriminate against PoC by assuming anyone who was not white was an illegal alien.
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Obama takes executive action against mass deportation
President Obama vowed to allow many illegal aliens to reside in the United States without the fear of deportation. His plan involved the deferral of deportation for around 4 million people.
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Donald Trump becomes President-elect of the United States
After making promises to build a wall to keep out the Mexican "rapists and killers" and other immigration reform ideas, as well as making anti-Semitic and Islamophobic statements against immigrants, Donald Trump is elected as the President of the United States. He will be inaugurated in January of 2017.
