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Naturalization Act of 1790
This act served to provide the very first guidelines for immigration. The guidelines stated who would be granted national citizenship. It limited national citizenship to whte persons, who were free, and also of good character. -
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Important Immigration Milestones
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The Alien and Sedation Acts
In these acts, president John Adams increased residency requirements for American citizenship from 5 to 14 years. These acts also gave the president the authorization needed to imprison/deport aliens considered dangerous. -
Page Act of 1875
This act was one of the first restrictive immigration laws passed in America. The law prevented asians from coming into the country if it was for forced labor or prostitution. it also prevented the immigration of those considered criminals or convicts in their home countries. -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
This law suspended the immigration for Chinese laborers for 10 years and bar Chinese naturalization. The act also allowed the deportation of illegal Chines from America. -
Immigration Act of 1891
This was the very first comprehensive law for the Nation control of immigration. This law aso established the Bureau of Immigration under the Treasury. -
Ellis Island: Immigration Entry Checkpoint
More than 12,000,000 immigrants were allowed access to America through Ellis Island, located in the New York Harbor. The immigration entry checkpoint was open until 1954. -
Mexican Reparation
Thousands of mexicans immigrated to America following the Mexican Revolution. For Mexicans, America offered better paying jobs. These jobs included mining, railroads and agriculture, among other things. -
Emergency Quota Act
This law established a numerical quota limit on immigration from Europe. Set annual quota to 3% of the population of a nationality currently living in America. -
Johnson-Reed Act
This law placed a limit on the amount of immigrants allowed into the country each year. The law allowed only 2% of the population of a certain country (already living in America) to be admitted every year. -
McCarran-Walter Act
This act abolished the racial guidelines found in the Naturalization Act of 1790. It also set a quota system for nationalities. And it also established a preference system of certain skills. -
Hart-Cellar Act
Replace National Quota System with a preference system based on relations and skill sets of individuals. -
Refugee Act of 1980
This act was able to set up a permanent, systematic procedure for the admittance of refugees. The act also defined refugee according to international standards and removed them from the preference system. -
Immigration Act of 1990
This law was a reform of the previous Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It enabled the increase of overall immigration. Also implemented family based visas as well as 5 different employee based visas. -
Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act
This acts grants special immigration status to all immigrants who have served in the United States Armed Forces for a period of 12 years or longer. Special immigration status shall also be issued to those who have a "reccomendation by the executive department under which such alien served or is serving". -
SB 1070
SB 1070 was a law passed that made it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It also required legal immigrants to carry proper paperwork proving immigration status. State police are required to question people who invoke reasonable suspicion of their immigration status.
