Immigration Laws 07 12 2012 20 34 00 First major immigration act in 1921 What caused immigration restrictions Nativism Xenophobia o Until the 1910s we were just nativist but after that time we switched to being fearful o Why do the whites terrify immigrants Loss of power due to voting blocks That they re losing their women Numbers into the US o During the industrial revolution second wave people flood o Collectively referred to as the New Immigrants one of these groups being the Italians Tend to be return migrants and don t assimilate Don t learn English Don t convert to Protestantism Undesireables Different looking poor wrong religions Our first immigration laws come up to keep these guys away What do we want to do with our laws We want to limit the immigration of people we don t like the US hides behind crazy numbers and systems to confuse people In order to limit the amount of immigrants we need to find a way to count them before they re already here Ellis Island Opened 1892 1954 Started to count the immigrants All boats MUST port at Ellis Island but we make more than one all up and down the east coast and use Angel Island the same way Ellis Island in the US is a class based system o In your home country you buy yourself a boat ticket but the boat line owned by the US says you have to buy a round trip ticket to the US so they have a trip home if they get turned o Most of our immigrants come in steerage class on huge away Atlantic cruisers o We see that varying classes are coming in so when our giant cruisers come in the steerage class is ushered out of the boat but the rich people sit in their cabins officials go in confirm no one is sick or anything crazy and then bids them all adieu and sends them on their way o The Steerage class sits outside called into the building little by little so we can check them for illness mental capacity First you go through the process of checking yourself and your family in Initially we have no paperwork from immigrants so Americans ask in English What is your name Where are you from English speakers can t figure out the answer so names can get changed Medical examinations are then administered stripped down naked asked to cough checked out for STDs we re looking for TB and STDs any women with STDs are assumed to be prostitutes and sent away due to the Page Act Southern Italian women are being poked and prodded at by a male doctor down there Sounds good The mental examinations consists of questions like Who is the president and whatnot and if they think you re really stupid they ll give you a puzzle Families also get ripped apart here Your wife isn t admitted to America so when they ask you in English Do you want to go with your wife or go to America All you get is Go to America And so you are separated from your wife or your children etc Alien and Sedition Acts 1798 Naturalization Act of 1870 Page Act of 1875 Undesirables and prostitutes infirm etc Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 Chae Chan Ping vs US 1889 o We get to decide what this broad term means so mentally o Important because not only did it confirm it was constitutionally acceptable to bar out Chinese but the Justices wrote opinions like Only the US can make immigration laws and The US can keep out whoever they want The Quota Acts We can t limit immigration by numbers because we need workers but we just want certain workers Involves a total number of immigrants so we limit the amount of immigrants let in by the number of their people already here Total of immigrants allowed in is only 357 000 3 of the 1910 census Only 3 of ANY population in the US can be allowed in Southern Italians Irish Northern Italians etc only 3 of the current population of those groups First come first served basis And if even 1 more person comes form that group they re turned away BUT there is a total of only 357 000 so all the immigrant groups added together exceed this so if the main quota is met and only 1500 Russian Jews came in too bad so sad No thorough way of counting everyone so plenty of people could sneak in If you move from a country that isn t represented in the 1920 census sorry you can t come in Immigration Act of 1925 Johnson Reed Act National Origins Act Because the Quota acts weren t good enough apparently 2 of the 1890 census fewer immigrant groups in the US Lower the total quota to 164 000 Hardly any Jews were allowed to immigrate during the Holocaust Exceptions because we need workers o Allow our Neighbors Mexico Canada the Caribbean south and central America can come in We count them on the side but not part of the quota but every group has different 1965 we end the quota with The Immigration and Nationality Act of restrictions 1965 Lyndon B Johnson took over for JFK Said quotas were unfair he believed in equality passed the acts to allow better voting rights for Africans etc He divides the globed in half and gives the Eastern Hemisphere 170 000 immigrants and the Western 120 000 20 000 people are allowed to come over from every country until we meet the max quota We decide who comes in before they come to the US through applying for the visa and gives preferential treatment to family members of those who already have family here and skilled workers and we get rid of our exceptions Obviously Illegal immigration isn t new at this point but now it s really hard to protect the border between the US and Mexico Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Ronald Reagan introduced this act Why are illegal immigrants coming over For jobs So in the 80s we finally come up with this idea that if we don t hire illegals then they won t come over anymore Every employer has to prove their employees are legal workers called the Burden of Proof you have to ask for official documentation saying these people are here legally but the employer has to turn in this information and if you don t you aren t doing your job and receive the punishment of jail time a fine or both However Reagan sees that we need these people to work so we give Amnesty to people who have been here at least since Jan 1 1982 and if you ve been an upstanding citizen paid bills paid taxes etc and if you turn yourself in and prove the aforementioned conditions we ll start the process of making you legal Many don t turn themselves in though because they haven t been in the US long enough or don t have the documentation to prove themselves since they …
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