- Amanda Roraback
Immigration
Alien and Sedition Acts
Passed by John Adams
1820-1860 Irish immigration
Irish potato famine
Many were Catholic
German immigrants
Most to midwest to buy farms in Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cincinnati
1849 Know-Nothing Party formed
Backlash from Irish and German immigrants
1849 Gold Rush
Attracted immigrants, including Chinese
1880-1992 New Immigrants
Mostly from southern, eastern and central Europe
4 million Italians, 2 million Jews
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
Barred Chinese immigrants (.002% of population) from entering US
First act in American history to restrict an immigrant group
1892 Ellis Island opens
First immigration station
New York Harbor
1892-1954 more than 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island
1907 Gentlemen's Agreement
San Francisco segregated schools
Restricting Japanese from attending schools with white students
Theodore Roosevelt urged SF to end segregation
In exchange, Japan agreed to limit Japanese emigration to US
1910 Angel Island Immigration Station
Opened in San Francisco
Operated until 1940
1917 Immigration Act
Created literacy requirements for immigrants
Halts most immigration from Asian countries
1921 Emergency Quota Act
Limited immigrants to 3% of each nationality based on 1910 census
1924 National Origins Act/Asian Exclusion Act
Limited immigrants to 2% of each nationality based on 1890 census
Favored immigrants from northern and western European countries
GB, Ireland and Germany accounted for 70% of available visas
Prevented immigration from Asia (except US colony Philippines)
1942 Bracero Program
Allowed Mexican agricultural workers to enter US temporarily during WWI
Lasted until 1964
1952 McCarran-Walter Act
Ended exclusion of Asian immigrants to the US
1960-62
Operation Peter Pan, 14,000 Cuban children allowed to come to the US
1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
Replaced National Origins formula with system based on preference for immigrants based on skill and family relationships
Passed by Lyndon B. Johnson
1980 Mariel boatlift
125,000 Cuban refugees arrived in Florida seeking political asylum
1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA or Simpson-Mazzoli Act)
Signed into law by President Reagan
Made it illegal to knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
Also legalized undocumented immigrants who arrived before 1982
1994 Proposition 187
AKA Save Our State (SOS)
1994 ballot initiative to prohibit undocumented immigrants from using health care and public education in California
Referendum was passed Nov. 8, 1994
But rejected Nov. 11 as unconstitutional
Cited as the major reason for the decline of the Republican Party in California
2000 DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors)
Proposed by Senators Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch
Provided pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants brought to the US illegally by their parents ("Dreamers")
Didn't pass
2012 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
Temporary shielded "Dreamers" from deportation (not path to citizenship)
Signed by President Obama
2017 Trump