Historical Timeline
History of Legal and Illegal Immigration to the United States
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1607-1799
1607 - Beginning of Colonial Immigration; English Settlers Arrive in America

Depiction of settlers landing in America, 1584.
Source: Virgina Historical Society, www.vahistorical.org (accessed July 20, 2009)
Roy L. Garis Immigration Restriction: A Study of the Opposition to and Regulation of Immigration into the United States, 1927
1619 - Importation of African Slaves Begins

Loading plan of a slave ship hold.
Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org (accessed July 15, 2009)
Larry A. Greene, PhD Lenworth Gunther, PhD The New Jersey African- American History Curriculum Guide: Grades 9 to 12, 1997
1637 - Massachusetts Requires Permission to Host Aliens
In May of 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts ordered that no town or person in the colony should receive or host any alien without permission from the authorities. John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, defended the 1637 court order as follows:
"If we heere be a corporation established by free consent, if the place of our cohabitation be our owne, then no man hath a right to come into us without our consent... If we are bound to keep off whatsoever appears to tend to our ruine or damage, then may we lawfully refuse to receive such whose dispositions suite not with ours and whose society (we know) will be hurtful to us."
John Winthrop "A Defence of an Order of the Court," in Emerson Edward Proper, Colonial Immigration Laws - A Study of the Regulation of Immigration by the English Colonies in America, 1900
1656 - Anti-Quaker Immigration Popular but Quakers Still Immigrate

Woman being escorted to her execution for being Quaker, 1660
Source: www.worldspirituality.org (accessed July 20, 2009)
Emberson E. Proper, AM Colonial Immigration Laws - A Study of the Regulation of Immigration by the English Colonies in America, 1900
1670 - 10,000 Indentured Servants Kidnapped from England and Sent to the Colonies
"[Most] indentured servants or redemptioners... were brought under compulsion; the others came voluntarily. The former consisted of convicted criminals and kidnaped persons... Boys and girls of the poorer classes were hustled on board ships and virtually sold into slavery for a term of years. Kidnaping or 'spiriting' became a fine art under Charles II. Slums and alleys were raked for material to stock the plantations... About 1670 no fewer than ten thousand persons were 'spirited' away from England in one year. One kidnaper testified in 1671 that he had sent five hundred persons a year to the colonies for twelve years and another testified that he had sent 840 in one year. The government was slow to strike at this infamous traffic... Ship masters made an enormous profit from this traffic."Roy L. Garis Immigration Restriction: A Study of the Opposition to and Regulation of Immigration into the United States, 1927
1700 - 222,500 White and 27,500 Black Inhabitants Live in the Colonies
"In 1700, nearly a century after Jamestown, only about 250,000 white and black inhabitants populated the colonies... The vast majority of the white inhabitants were either born in England or descended from English immigrants. Only about 11 percent [27,500] of the non-Native American population were black."Aaron Fogleman, PhD Hopeful Journeys: German Immigration, Settlement, and Political Culture in Colonial America, 1717-1775, 1996
Mar. 12, 1700 - Massachusetts Prohibits "Lame, Impotent, or Infirm Persons" from Entering
"Colonial immigration laws... set precedents that were followed in subsequent national legislation. Colonial Americans, who viewed strangers as legitimate objects of suspicion, cautiously allowed sttlers but were wary of those of religious difference (i.e., Catholics/Jesuits) or those who might become public charges. The influx of Germans and Quakers in the early 1700s led to specific provincial immigration laws... The [Mar. 12, 1700 Province Laws of Massachusetts], enacted nine years after the two Massachusetts Bay colonies unified into one province, demonstrates their economic concerns. Lame, impotent, or infirm persons were prohibited from entering without providing security that the town into which they settled would not be charged with their support. That first major provincial law was amended in 1722 [Province Laws, Massachusetts, June 29, 1722] to increase the bond to secure that no immigrant would become a public charge and specifying the requirement of masters of ships to submit their list to town selectmen or the town treasurer."Michael C. Lemay, PhD Elliott R. Barkan, PhD Ed., U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues: A Documentary History, 1999
1717-1769 - 36,000 British Convicts Transported to America after Passage of Transportation Act of 1717

Biographical account of a British felon transported to the colonies
Source: Documenting the American South, www.docsouth.unc.edu (accessed July 20, 2009)
National Archives (UK) "Crime and Punishment: Transportation," www.learningcurve.gov.uk (accessed July 17, 2009)
Sep. 17, 1717 - Pennsylvania Enacts Oath of Allegiance for German Immigrants
At a Sep. 17, 1717 meeting, Williams Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania, said that foreigners from Germany settled in Pennsylvania without any certificates demonstrating their identity, origin and intention. Thus, he and the provincial Council ordered that those aliens take the following oath of allegiance: "We the subscribers, natives and late inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the Rhine and places adjacent, having transported ourselves into this Province of Pennsylvania, a colony subject to the Crown of Great Britain, in hopes and expectation of finding a retreat and peaceable settlement therein: Do solemnly promise and engage that we will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his present Majesty king George II, and his successors, and will be faithful to the Proprietors of this Province; and that we will demean ourselves peaceably to all his said Mejesty's subjects, and strictly observe and conform to the laws of England and of this Province to the utmost of our power and best of our understanding."Emberson E. Proper, AM "Province of Pennsylvania's Oath of Allegiance," Colonial Immigration Laws - A Study of the Regulation of Immigration by the English Colonies in America, 1900
Sep. 21, 1727-1729 - Pennsylvania’s Immigration Law Ignored by Ship Masters; New Tax and Health Inspections Imposed on Immigrants

Partial list of foreigners imported into Pennsylvania, Sep. 30, 1727
Source: Pennsylvania Archives. www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us (accessed July 20, 2009)
Roy L. Garis Immigration Restriction: A Study of the Opposition to and Regulation of Immigration into the United States, 1927
1740 - British Parliament Enacts the Plantation Act, Which Serves as Model for Future US Naturalization Acts
"In 1740 the British Parliament passed an act which came to be known as the Plantation Act --meaning the colonies--that sought to regularize the naturalization process. As such, it was also intended to encourage immigration to the American colonies. Under British law at the time, aliens could not engage in British commerce without severe penalties. This aspect was not rigorously enforced in the colonies, but nonetheless such British law made it advantageous for immigrants of the colonies to become naturalized citizens. In England itself, the naturalization process required a profession of Christian faith and proof that an individual had taken the Sacrament in a Protestant church. As noted in this law for the colonies, exception was made for Quakers and Jews but specifically not for Roman Catholics (referred to in the law as Papists). This law, although British... governed all the English colonies until Independence, and furthermore... it was the model upon which the first U.S. naturalization act, with respect to time, oath of allegiance, process of swearing before a judge, and the like, was clearly based."Michael C. Lemay, PhD Elliott R. Barkan, PhD Ed., U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues: A Documentary History, 1999
1773 - England Stops Emigration to the Colonies; Fines Imposed upon Emigrants and Ship Masters Violating the Law
"[F]rom the time of James II to the accession of George III, the British authorities generally were active in fostering foreign immigration... After 1773, all naturalization was abruptly stopped, and in the next year, heavy financial burdens were imposed upon emigrants and shipmasters who violated the law--a change in policy that was not overlooked by the American Revolutionists when they compiled their grievances against George III in the Declaration of Independence."Carl Wittke, PhD We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant, 1939
1781-1788 - Articles of Confederation Kept Citizenship and Naturalization of Immigrants under Individual States' Control

Articles of Confederation Draft Published in 1777
Source: US Library of Congress, www.loc.gov (accessed July 20, 2009)
Matthew Spalding, PhD "From Pluribus to Unum: Immigration and the Founding Fathers," Policy Review, Winter, 1994
Mar. 26, 1790 - First Alien Naturalization Act Enacted by the Newly Created US Government
"The original [1790 Alien Naturalization Act (165KB)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "This Month in Immigration History: March 1790," www.uscis.gov (accessed May 3, 2007)
Jan. 24, 1795 - Naturalization Act of 1795 Adds Rules to the Citizenship Process
"The act of January 29, 1795 (1 Stat. 414) increased the period of residence required for citizenship from 2 to 5 years. It also required applicants to declare publicly their intention to become citizens of the United States and to renounce any allegiance to a foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty 3 years before admission as citizens. Immigrants who had ‘borne any hereditary title, or been of the order of nobility’ were also required to renounce that status. These actions could be taken before the supreme, superior, district, or circuit court of any State or Territory, or before a Federal circuit or district court of the United States."Eileen Bolger "Background History of the United States Naturalization Process," www.colorado.gov, June 18, 2003
June-July 1798 - Alien and Sedition Acts Enacted; US President Given Power to Punish and Deport Immigrants; Residency Requirement for Naturalization Increases to 14 Years
"Signed into law by President John Adams in 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts consisted of four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress as America prepared for war with France. [An Act to Establish an Uniform Rule of Naturalization, An Act Concerning Aliens, An Act Respecting Alien Enemies, and An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States] These acts increased the residency requirement for American citizenship from five to fourteen years, authorized the president to imprison or deport aliens considered 'dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States' and restricted speech critical of the government. These laws were designed to silence and weaken the Democratic-Republican Party. Negative reaction to the Alien and Sedition Acts helped contribute to the Democratic-Republican victory in the 1800 elections. Congress repealed the Naturalization Act in 1802, while the other acts were allowed to expire."US Library of Congress (USLOC) "Primary Documents in American History: Alien and Sedition Acts," US Library of Congress (accessed Aug. 10, 2009)
1800-1849
1800 - Congress Reduces Naturalization Residency Requirements to Five Years
"[T]he Alien Act was not without effect, causing protests among various ethnic groups, especially the Irish. When he was elected president in 1800, due in no small part to the immigrant vote, Jefferson wanted to get rid of the residency requirement. Congress, believing residency was still a key element of citizenship, only lowered the requirement to the previous length of five years."Matthew Spalding, PhD "From Pluribus to Unum: Immigration and the Founding Fathers," Policy Review, Winter 1994
1808 - Foreign Slave Trade Becomes Illegal; 50,000 Slaves Become First "Illegal Aliens" in the US

Slave Ship Wildfire Landed on Key West, FL, Apr. 20, 1860
Source: Harper's Weekly, www.harpers.org (accessed July 20, 2009)
Roger Daniels, PhD Guarding the Golden Door, American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, 2004
1814-1850 - Native Americans Exempted from Naturalization and Forced from Tribal Land; Slave Populations in Ceded Land Increase Dramatically

Removed Native Americans emigrated west following the "Trail of Tears."
Source: Museum of the Cherokee Indian, www.cherokeemuseum.org (accessed July 20, 2009)
Ronald T. Takaki, PhD A Different Mirror, A History of Multicultural America, 1993
1816 - Irish Immigration to US Begins along with Anti-Irish Sentiments in US

Burning of St. Michael's Church in Philadelphia, May 8, 1844
Source: Dan MacGuill, "When Fear and Hatred of Irish Catholics Set Fire to an American City," thejournal.ie, Jan. 3, 2016
Kevin Kenny, PhD "Irish Immigrants in the United States," www.america.gov, Feb. 13, 2008
1830 - 1847 - American "Nativists" Gain Political Power and Advocate 21-Year Residence Requirement for Naturalization
"By the 1830's, local nativist political parties appeared in New York and elsewhere on the Eastern seaboard, usually in close alliance with the Whigs... In 1844, a nativist mayor was elected in New York, with strong Whig support, Several members of Congress were claimed by the nativists, and, in 1845 and 1847, national native-American conventions were held to advocate a 21-year residence requirement for naturalization, the limitation of officeholding to native Americans, the restriction of immigration, and educational reforms."Carl Wittke, PhD We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant, 1939
1837 - Supreme Court Rules in New York v. Miln That States May Take Precautionary Measures Against the Importation of "Paupers, Vagabonds, Convicts, and Infectious Articles"
"The New York laws were challenged in New York v. Miln (1837)
Kermit L. Hall, PhD "Immigration," The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States , 2005
1840s - Naturalizations of Germans and Irish Are Expedited and Offered Free of Charge During Election Time
"The buying of votes in local elections was easy where large groups of immigrants could be mobilized by their leaders to march to the polls... naturalization papers could be obtained before election, free of charge and without too many questions asked, from friendly judges. In the 1840's, it was the general practice to advertise in the German papers of New York just before Election Day that all Germans wishing to be naturalized should apply to the German committee of Tammany Hall, where they would receive their citizenship papers gratis. Irish immigrants landing in the morning might be voters by nightfall."Carl Wittke, PhD We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant, 1939
Feb. 2, 1848 - Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo Results in United States Acquiring Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and Parts of Utah and Nevada
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo [Feb. 2, 1848]
Ronald T. Takaki, PhD A Different Mirror, A History of Multicultural America, 1993
Feb. 7, 1849 - Supreme Court Rules That Congress Alone Can Regulate Immigration
"Massachusetts and New York passed laws taxing and otherwise impeding immigrants. These were appealed to the Supreme Court, which struck them down in the 'Passenger Cases' of 1849 [both cases had a 5-4 vote], ruling that: 1) although the Constitution said nothing about immigration directly, it was clearly 'foreign commerce,' which the Constitution explicitly reserved to Congress; and 2) Congress's jurisdiction was preemptive so that even in the absence of any federal legislation, state governments could not regulate immigration."Roger Daniels, PhD Guarding the Golden Door, American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, 2004
1849 - Know-Nothing Party Forms and Pushes for Major Restrictions on Immigrants
"In 1849, some organized into an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant political group famously called the 'Know-Nothings,' which derived its name from the secrecy of its members. [They] believed that native-born Americans were superior to the newly arrived immigrant groups on the basis that Irish and German immigrants tended to be poorer and Catholic, which Know-Nothings took as traits of cultural and economic backwardness."US Library of Congress (USLOC), "Teacher Guide, Primary Source Set, Immigration Challenges for New Americans," www.loc.gov (accessed June 29, 2009)
"In national politics, the Know-Nothing movement reached its climax in 1856... The KnowNothings demanded an end to pauper and criminal immigration, the repeal of state laws which permitted foreigners to vote before they had completed the naturalization process, and the repeal of Congressional land grants to unnaturalized foreigners. They opposed the 'aggressive policy and corrupting tendencies' of the Roman Catholic Church, favored filling public offices with Americans by 'birth, education, and training,' opposed exclusion of the Bible from the public schools, and advocated a 21-year residence requirement for naturalization."Carl Wittke, PhD We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant, 1939
1850-1899
1862 - Homestead Act of 1862 Passed to Encourage Westward Migration

First Homestead Act land certificate issued to Daniel Freeman for 160 acres.
Source: US National Archives, www.archives.gov (accessed July 21, 2009)
Sonia G. Benson "Homestead Act of 1862," U.S. Immigration and Migration Primary Sources, Ed. Sarah Hermsen, 2004
Feb. 1862 - President Lincoln Acts to Prohibit the "Coolie Trade"
"Lincoln signed 'An Act to Prohibit the 'Coolie Trade' by American Citizens in American Vessels' in February 1862. ...[T]he legislation simply outlawed any shipment of Chinese subjects 'known as 'coolies' abroad 'to be held to service or labor.' Virtually all Chinese subjects leaving China were known as 'coolies.' But another section of the law left the door open to Chinese migrations, proclaiming that 'any free and voluntary emigration of any Chinese subject' should proceed unabated so long as a U.S. consul attested to the voluntary status of the migrant through a written certificate."Moon-Ho Jung, PhD "Outlawing 'Coolies':Race, Nation, and Empire in the Age of Emancipation," American Quarterly, Fall 2005
1863-1869 - Central Pacific Railroad Hires Chinese Laborers and the Union Pacific Hires Irish Laborers to Construct the First Transcontinental Railroad

Political cartoon showing Uncle Sam being swallowed by Chinese and Irish immigrants.
Source: US Library of Congress, www.loc.gov (accessed July 20, 2009)
Harvard University Library "Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930, Key Dates and Landmarks in United States Immigration History," Open Collections Program, www.ocp.hul.harvard.edu (accessed June 30, 2009)
July 4, 1864 - First Congressional Attempt to Centralize Immigration Control; A Commissioner of Immigration Is Appointed by the US President
"First Congressional attempt to centralize control of immigration.a. A Commissioner of Immigration was appointed by the President to serve under the authority of the Secretary of State.
b. Authorized immigrant labor contracts whereby would-be immigrants would pledge their wages to pay for transportation."
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "Immigration Legal History Legislation from 1790-1900," www.uscis.gov (accessed June 3, 2009)
1868 - 20,000 to 30,000 Expedited Naturalizations before Elections in New York City

William M. Tweed, ca. 1866-1871.
Source: Museum of the City of New York, "Sarony [William M. Tweed," collections.mcny.org (accessed Nov. 27, 2019)
Carl Wittke, PhD We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant, 1939
1870-1880 - Chinese Immigration to the United States Increases During the Gold Rush
"Chinese came to the country they called 'Gold Mountain' to participate in the California gold rush, and their numbers grew slowly. Between 1870 and 1880, 138,941 Chinese migrated to the United States (4.3% of all immigration); by 1880, the Chinese population totaled 105,465, 0.2% of the U.S. population of 50 million. This immigration was specifically authorized by the Burlingame Treaty, concluded between China and the United States in 1868."Gabriel J. Chin, LLM "Chae Chan Ping and Fong Yue Ting: The Origins of Plenary Power," Immigration Law Stories, Ed. Devid Martin and Peter Schuck, 2005
July 14, 1870 - Naturalization Act of 1870 Extends Naturalization to Former Slaves
"The first Naturalization Act of 1790 limited the right of becoming a naturalized citizen to 'free white persons.' Subsequent enactments, legislated during the course of the nineteenth century, all included this racial condition. After the Civil War, the Naturalization Act of 1870 extended the right of naturalization to former slaves, making aliens of African birth and persons of African descent also eligible."Steven C. Teel "Lessons on Judicial Interpretation: How Immigrants Takao Ozawa and Yick Wo Searched the Courts for a Place in America," OAH Magazine of History, Fall 1998
Mar. 1875 - Page Law Toughens Penalties for Transporting Asians to the United States
With the Page Law, anyone who imported Chinese prositutes and anyone who "shall take, or cause to be taken or transported, to or from the United States any subject of China, Japan, or any oriental country, without their free and voluntary consent, for the purpose of holding them to a term of service" was subject to a fine of up to $2,000 and up to one year in jail.George Anthony Peffer, DA, MDiv "Forbidden Families: Emigration Experiences of Chinese Women Under the Page Law, 1875-1882," Journal of American Ethnic History, Fall 1986
1875-1880 - State Immigration Laws Become Unconstitutional; Congress Begins to Bring Immigration Under Direct Federal Control for the First Time
"In Henderson v. Mayor of New York
Kermit L. Hall, PhD "Immigration," The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, 2005
1880 - Burlingame Treaty Is Revised; Chinese Immigration Is Suspended
"President Hayes did not object to the goal of limiting Chinese immigration... he raised the possibility of revising the Burlingame Treaty... In November [1880], the new treaty was signed which allowed the American government to suspend, but not prohibit, the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States. The document reaffirmed the panoply of 'rights, privileges, immunities, and exemptions' enjoyed by the subjects of a most favored nation for Chinese laborers currently residing in the United States. The new treaty furthermore obliged the American government to formulate measures to ensure the protection of those rights and privileges."William Wei, PhD "The Chinese-American Experience: 1857-1892," www.harpweek.com (accessed May 28, 2009)
1880's - First "Great Wave" of European Immigrants to the United States

Immigrants arriving on a ship from Europe, ca. 1906
Source: Latin American Studies, www.latinamericanstudies.org (accessed July 20, 2009)
NewspaperARCHIVE.com "History of American Immigration," www.immigrationarchive.com (accessed Aug. 4, 2009)
1880s - Anti-Chinese Riots Spread over the Northwestern States; Oregon's Constitution Prevents Chinese from Owning Land

1886 cartoon depicting anti-Chinese sentiments
Source: US Library of Congress website, www.loc.gov (accessed July 20, 2009)
Support for Teachers in Art (STArt) "Chinese Traditions of Oregon," START website (accessed July 31, 2009)
1882 - Immigration Exclusion Act Prohibits Immigration of Criminals, Poor, and Mentally Ill
"The 1882 Act to Regulate Immigration prohibited entry to ‘any person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge’. The law was designed to exclude immigrants whose undesirable conditions might prove costly to society – including convicted criminals, the poor, and the mentally ill."Paul Lombardo, PhD, JD "Eugenics Laws Restricting Immigration," www.eugenicsarchive.org (accessed Apr. 15, 2013)
May 6, 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act Passes and Immigration Exclusion Era Begins
"In the beginning Congress created the Chinese Exclusion Act (17KB)
Roger Daniels, PhD Guarding the Golden Door, American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, 2004
"In response to a remarkable intensity of complaint on the West Coast, which was increasingly expressed nationwide, Congress moved rapidly toward a historic reversal of the tradition of laissez-faire in immigration matters... [and] by wide margins passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, suspending the admission of Chinese laborers for ten years... It was the first sharp curtailment of immigration to America and was extended with minor adjustments for sixty years... A new tradition of restricting U.S. immigration through federal policy had begun... The Chinese Exclusion Act, with its misleading, inept title and other flaws apparent to people living a century later, prevented what had been building as a massive and sustained immigration of Chinese laborers to Jinshan-'the Golden Mountain.'"Otis L. Graham Jr., PhD Unguarded Gates, A History of America’s Immigration Crisis, 2006
1885 - Alien Contract Labor Law Bans Immigration of Workers to Break Strikes
"The Knights of Labor replaced the NLU [National Labor Union] as the dominant labor organization in the 1880s. As immigration soared in the 1880s, nativists and labor unions, including the Knights, sought to ban Chinese immigration and to reduce the inflow of other immigrants… [I]n 1885, three bills banning contract labor worked their way through Congress. The first bill through the system was that of Congressman Foran, which is why the Alien Contract Labor Act was called the Foran Act. The law banned importation of workers to drive down wages or break strikes, which was enough to effectively end contract labor. The Foran Act also outlawed prepayment of passage and other assistance in return for the immigrant’s agreeing to work for a specific employer. Significantly, the Alien Contract Labor Law of 1885 barred indentured servitude. It exempted domestic workers and skilled labor needed in trades or industry. It also exempted actors, professional artists, and lecturers. It allowed relatives and friends to assist a would-be immigrant."John H. Barnhill, PhD "Alien Contract Labor Act (Foran Act)," Anti-Immigration in the United States, A Historical Encyclopedia, Ed. Kathleen Arnold, 2011
1886 - Statue of Liberty Unveiled; "The Huddled Masses Yearning To Be Free" Invited to Immigrate

Statue of Liberty.
Source: A View on Cities, www.aviewoncities.com (accessed July 21, 2009)
Benjamin M. Ziegler, PhD Immigration: An American Dilemma, 1953
[Editor’s Note: The following is the 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus titled “The New Colossus” engraved on the bronze plaque inside the statue’s pedestal:
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
‘Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she
With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'”
(see an image of the plaque)]
1887 - Chinese Immigration Lowers Dramatically
"The Chinese Exclusion Act worked. In 1882, before it took effect, over 39,000 Chinese came to America. In 1887, Chinese immigration bottomed out at 10! While America’s population more than doubled between 1880 and 1920, the population of Chinese ancestry declined by over a third."Gabriel J. Chin, LLM "Chae Chan Ping and Fong Yue Ting: The Origins of Plenary Power," Immigration Law Stories, Ed. Devid Martin and Peter Schuck, 2005
1891 - Congress Establishes the First Federal Administrative Agency for the Regulation of Immigration
"In 1891 Congress established the first federal administrative agency for the regulation of immigration in the Treasury Department. Congress later refined and strengthened the control of immigration. Statutes that restricted immigration according to increasingly stringent standards of admissibility—terminating the period of free and unlimited immigration by the early twentieth century—were made possible by the Supreme Court's position that the exclusive constitutional power to regulate immigration resided in Congress."Kermit L. Hall, PhD "Immigration," The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, 2005
Jan. 2, 1892 - Ellis Island Opens as Immigrant Entry Checkpoint

Depiction of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, circa 1900.
Source: Latin American Studies, www.latinamericanstudies.org (accessed July 20, 2009)
Ellis Island Foundation "Ellis Island - History," www.ellisisland.org (accessed July 15, 2009)
May 18, 1896 - US Supreme Court Rules Due Legal Process Extends to Undocumented Immigrants
"In the 1896 case Wong Wing vs. US, the Supreme Court ruled that even an immigrant who had broken immigration law still had the right to make his case to a judge before being 'deprived of life, liberty, or property.' [The Supreme Court stated:] '[A]ll persons within the territory of the United States are entitled to the protection guarantied by those amendments, and that even aliens shall not be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.' The court decision establishes that the US Constitution'' Fifth and Sixth amendments—which grant the right to a public trial and prohibit detention without due legal process—extend to all people on US soil."Annalisa Merelli, MA "Do Undocumented Immigrants Have the Right to a Day in Court? The Supreme Court Answered in 1896," qz.com, June 25, 2018
Mar. 28, 1898 - Supreme Court Confirms That 14th Amendment Gives Citizenship to All Persons Born in the United States
"To hold that the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution excludes from citizenship the children, born in the United States, of citizens or subjects of other countries would be to deny citizenship to thousands of persons of English, Scotch, Irish, German, or other European parentage who have always been considered and treated as citizens of the United States... Whatever considerations, in the absence of a controlling provision of the Constitution, might influence the legislative or the executive branch of the Government to decline to admit persons of the Chinese race to the status of citizens of the United States, there are none that can constrain or permit the judiciary to refuse to give full effect to the peremptory and explicit language of the Fourteenth Amendment, which declares and ordains that 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.'"United States v. Wong Kim Ark (366KB)
1900-1949
1900 - Organic Act of 1900 Grants US Citizenship to Every Person Born in Hawaii before Its 1898 Annexation, Including People of Japanese and Chinese Ancestry
"The so-called Organic Act of 1900
Roger Daniels, PhD Guarding the Golden Door, American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, 2004
1903 - Anarchist Exclusion Act Enacted; Exclusion of Immigrants Based on Political Ideology Begins
"[F]oreign-born political radicals stirred public concern. Beyond urban machine politics that relied on alien grist and rising religious differences between largely Protestant natives and Catholic immigrants, alien troublemakers -- anarchists -- were afoot on American soil... President William McKinley, who had campaigned on a platform of tariffs and 'big tent' themes directed at immigrants ('America for Americans, native and naturalized'), fell to an assassin's bullet in 1901. Leon Czolgosz, called 'an anarchist of American birth but obviously foreign extraction,' sparked congressional action to add anarchists to the exclusion list. The 1903 law provided for exclusion and deportation of alien anarchists -- those foreigners who believe in or 'advocate the overthrow by force of violence of the Government of the United States or of all governments or of all forms of law, or the assassination of public officials.' The 1903 Act also both bolstered public health exclusions and provided for limited exceptions for certain diseased aliens."James R. Edwards Jr., PhD "Keeping Extremists Out: The History of Ideological Exclusion and the Need for Its Revival," Center for Immigration Studies, Sep. 2005
June 29, 1906 - Naturalization Act Creates Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization
"On June 27, 1906, Congress passed an act (34 Stat. 596) that expanded the existing Immigration Bureau to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and put it in charge of ‘all matters concerning the naturalization of aliens.’ Although the new Bureau was part of the Department of Labor and Commerce initially, and part of the Department of Labor from 1913 to 1940, most of its operations were directed by the Department of Justice, and, in 1940, the Bureau was made part of the Justice Department. Under the act of 1906, every petition for naturalization became a case for examination by Bureau officials.This act also established the basic procedure for naturalization during the period 1906-52. The procedure began with the filing of a declaration of intention, which recorded the applicant's oath to the clerk of the court that it was his or her bona fide intention to become a citizen of the United States, to reside permanently therein, and to renounce all allegiances to other nations. Within a period of 2 to 7 years after filing the declaration, the applicant could petition the court for citizenship, presenting at this time the affidavits of two witnesses with personal knowledge of the applicant, stating that the applicant had resided in the United States for at least 5 years and possessed a good moral character. The petition then became the subject of an investigation and hearing before a judge. Officials of the Bureau conducted preliminary examinations and submitted findings and recommendations to the court. The hearing before a judge was the last step in the procedure, provided the judge found the findings and recommendation of naturalization officials favorable and satisfactory. If so, the applicant would take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and laws and renounce all foreign allegiances, and the judge would issue an order of admission to citizenship and grant the applicant a certificate of citizenship. However, a judge could also order a continuance of the investigation or deny the petition, listing the reasons for the denial. A major change in this procedure occurred in 1952, when the filing of the declaration of intention was eliminated."
Eileen Bolger "Background History of the United States Naturalization Process," www.colorado.gov, June 18, 2003
Mar. 2, 1907 - Expatriation Act Revokes Citizenship of American Women Who Marry Foreigners

Jean Wessman, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, lost her US citizenship when she married Henry Wessman, a Swedish citizen living in the United States, on Nov. 25, 1908.
Source: The Ancestor Files, "The Curious Story of Jean Wessman's Citizenship," www.theancestorfiles.blogspot.com, June 7, 2010
In 1922 Congress repealed most of the part of the Expatriation Act that expatriated women. Women who married immigrants not eligible for citizenship, mainly Chinese and Japanese men, forfeited their citizenship until the Magnuson Immigration Act of 1943 repealed the exclusion laws.
"An Act in Reference to the Expatriation of Citizens and Their Protection Abroad, 1907," (274 KB) American Society of International Law, Apr. 1907
Los Angeles Times "This Should Never Happen Again," www.latimes.com, Apr. 20, 2014
1907 - United States and Japan Sign the "Gentlemen's Agreement" Allowing Japanese "Picture Brides" to Immigrate
"In 1907, amidst the anti-Japanese pressures in California, President Theodore Roosevelt and the Government of Japan reached an agreement stopping issuance of passports to Japanese laborers but continuing issuing passports to laborers who had been in the U.S. previously and also to parents, wives, relatives of those already in the U.S.This essentially eliminated new Japanese laborers but thousands of wives (picture brides) came over. The purpose of this 'Gentlemen’s Agreement' was to stop Japanese immigration but it did not have the desired effect as thousands of 'picture brides' continued to arrive. It was euphemistically called 'The Gentlemen’s Agreement.' A halt to all Japanese immigration was achieved by law in 1924."
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) South Bay Chapter, "Chapter Newsletter: Euphemisms on Japanese Americans," www.southbayjacl.org, Jan. 2007
Oct. 5, 1909 - The Melting Pot Play Opens on Broadway; Its Title Becomes a Metaphor for the United States

Theater Programme of The Melting Pot by Israel Zangwill.
Source: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org (accessed July 21, 2009)
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) "The First Measured Century: Timeline, The Melting Pot," www.pbs.org (accessed June 4, 2009)
1910 - Mexican Revolution Drives Thousands of Mexicans across the US-Mexican Border

Mexican refugee camp at Fort Bliss, Texas, 1914.
Source: Latin American Studies, www.latinamericanstudies.org (accessed July 21, 2009)
Joseph A. Pitti, PhD Antonia Castaneda, PhD Carlos Cortes, PhD "Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California: Mexican Americans in California," www.nps.org, Nov. 17, 2004
1910 - Angel Island Immigration Station Opens

Japanese picture brides arriving at Angel Island immigration station, ca. 1920.
Source: Angel Island Conservancy, www.angelisland.org (accessed July 21, 2009)
Angel Island Association "Immigration Station," www.angelisland.org (accessed July 21, 2009)
1911 - Dillingham Commission Report Recommends Limiting Admission of Immigrants Based on "Economic or Business Considerations"
"[US President Theodore] Roosevelt appointed a commission to study immigration... The Dillingham Commission (named after its chairman, Senator William P. Dillingham, R-Vt.) labored for three years and produced a forty-two-volume report... that had 'enormous influence on the future course of immigration policy.' Mountains of data were gathered on the economic and social characteristics and impacts of the new immigrants... [it] construed a picture... that the new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe tended to be less skilled, less literate... The commission affirmed that 'further general legislation concerning the admission of aliens should be based primarily upon economic or business considerations.'"Otis L. Graham Jr., PhD Unguarded Gates, A History of America's Immigration Crisis, 2006
1913 - Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization Created and Moved to the Department of Labor
"The administrative changes first transferred the Bureau of Immigration from the Treasury to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor (1903), expanded the functions of the Bureau into a Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (1906), and moved the Bureau to the Department of Labor when the latter was separated from Commerce and divided it into separate Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization, each with its own commissioner (1913)."Roger Daniels, PhD Guarding the Golden Door, American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882, 2004
1914 - Eugenics Movement Influences Immigration Policy
"The Englishman Francis Galton coined the term eugenics, but the American zoologist Charles Davenport brought the movement to prominence when he founded the Eugenics Record Office (ERO) [in 1910] at Cold Spring Harbor, New York... Eugenicists contrasted pedigrees of families carrying superior traits – such as intelligence and musical ability – with those carrying 'dysgenic' traits – such as promiscuity and 'feeblemindedness...' Eugenicists feared that genes for feeblemindedness were insidiously ruining the American germ plasm from within, while allegedly inferior immigrants from southern and eastern Europe threatened from without."Cold Spring Harbor Labratory "Image Archive of the American Eugenics Movement," www.dnalc.org (accessed Aug. 12, 2009)
“Beginning in 1914, the Surgeon General and a number of senior officers in the PHS [Public Health Service] became publicly aligned with the eugenics movement. They took prominent roles in eugenic organizations and published articles to support the eugenicists’ position in the immigration restriction debate."Paul Lombardo, PhD, JD “Eugenics Laws Restricting Immigration,” www.dnalc.org (accessed Aug. 12, 2009)
1915-1916 - US Congress Authorizes "Mounted Inspectors" Along the US-Mexico Border
"Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors, usually called Mounted Guards, operated out of El Paso, Texas. Though they never totaled more than seventy-five, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration. In March 1915, Congress authorized a separate group of Mounted Guards, often referred to as Mounted Inspectors. Most rode on horseback, but a few operated cars and even boats. Although these inspectors had broader arrest authority, they still largely pursued Chinese immigrants trying to avoid the Chinese exclusion laws. These patrolmen were Immigrant Inspectors, assigned to inspection stations, and could not watch the border at all times. Military troops along the southwest border performed intermittent border patrolling, but this was secondary to 'the more serious work of military training.' Aliens encountered illegally in the U.S. by the military were directed to the immigration inspection stations. Texas Rangers were also sporadically assigned to patrol duties by the state, and their efforts were noted as 'singularly effective.'"US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) "Border Patrol History, The Origins of the Border Patrol," www.cbp.gov (accessed June 5, 2009)
1917 - Immigration Act of 1917 Denies Entry to Immigrants from Eastern Asia and the Pacific Islands
"Immigration Act of 1917 (2.5MB)
Jane Guskin David L. Wilson The Politics of Immigration, 2007
1920 - Estimated 17,300 Chinese Entered the United States Illegally since the Passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
"The Chinese exclusion laws greatly hindered Chinese immigration into the United States, but... they did not serve as the total barriers that exclusionists hoped they would. An estimated 17,300 Chinese immigrants entered the United States through the back doors of Canada and Mexico from 1882 to 1920. U.S. Bureau of Immigration reports and newspaper accounts indicate that they entered the country through Seattle, Washington; Buffalo, New York; San Diego, California; San Antonio and El Paso, Texas; and numerous other points along the northern and sothern borders of the United States."Erika Lee, PhD At America's Gates, 2003
May 1921 - First Quota Act Becomes Law and Limits the Number of Immigrants from Certain Countries
"In May, 1921, the first of the quota or percentage laws was passed. Being sponsored by the American Legion and American Federation of Labor, it became a law over Wilson's veto... It limited the number of immigrants who could enter this country from Europe, Australia, Africa, New Zealand, Asiatic Turkey, Persia, and certain islands of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to 3 percent of the number of foreign-born of such nationalities residing here when the 1910 census was taken... This law accomplished two things. (1) It reduced the total number of immigrants coming to this country... (2) It favored and stimulated the immigration of Protestant northwestern Europeans and excluded most of the Catholic southern and eastern Europeans."Hannibal Gerald Duncan, PhD Immigration and Assimilation, 1933
Nov. 13, 1922 - Ozawa v. US Supreme Court Decision Declares Japanese Ineligible for Citizenship
"The issue of U.S. citizenship eventually was decided by the 1922 Supreme Court decision [9-0] of Takao Ozawa v. United States, which declared that Japanese were ineligible for U.S. citizenship. 'Free white persons' were made eligible for U.S. citizenship by Congress in 1790. 'Aliens of African nativity and persons of African descent' were similarly designated by Congress in 1870. Due to some ambiguity about the term 'white,' some 420 Japanese had been naturalized by 1910, but a ruling by a U.S. attorney general to stop issuing naturalization papers to Japanese ended the practice in 1906. Ozawa had filed his naturalization papers in 1914. In 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court judged that since Ozawa was neither a 'free white person' nor an African by birth or descent, he did not have the right of naturalization as a Mongolian."US National Parks Service "A History of Japanese Americans in California: Discriminatory Practices," www.nps.gov, Nov. 17, 2004
Feb. 19, 1923 - US Supreme Court Decides in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind That Asian Indians Do Not Qualify for Naturalization because They Are Not Considered "White"
"Bhagat Singh Thind, a native of Punjab, immigrated to America in 1913. Working in an Oregon lumber mill he paid his way through University of California, Berkeley and enlisted in the United States Army in 1917, when the United States entered World War I. He was honorably discharged in 1918. In 1920 he applied for citizenship and was approved by the U.S. District Court. The Bureau of Naturalization appealed the case, which made its way to the Supreme Court. Thind's attorneys expected a favorable decision since the year before in the Ozawa ruling the same Court had declared Caucasians eligible for citizenship and Thind, as most North Indians, was clearly Caucasian. Now the Supreme Court found it necessary to qualify 'Caucasian' as being synonymous with 'white,' according to the understanding of the common man of the time... Because of the [9-0] Thind decision [United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind
University of California at Berkeley Library "Echoes of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California, 1899-1965," www.lib.berkeley.edu (accessed Aug. 18, 2009)
May 26, 1924 - Johnson-Reed Immigration Act Reduces Quotas
"[T]he Johnson-Reed Act of [May 26,] 1924
Lower East Side Tenement Museum "Tenement Encyclopedia - Chapter Nine - Immigration," www.lestm.org (accessed Apr. 24, 2007)
May 28, 1924 - US Border Patrol Established with Labor Appropriation Act of 1924

US Immigration Service Border Patrol, El Paso, TX, Apr. 21, 1927.
Source: US Customs and Border Protection, www.cbp.gov (accessed July 21, 2009)
US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) www.cbp.gov (accessed July 21, 2009)
June 2, 1924 - Indian Citizenship Act Grants Citizenship to All Native Americans Born in the United States

President Coolidge and four members of the Osage Nation after Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act
Library of Virginia, "Indian Citizenship Act," edu.lva.gov (accessed Jan. 22, 2016)
June 1927 - US Labor Secretary Estimates That over 1,000,000 Mexicans Are in United States Illegally
"In 1900 there were only 100,000 Mexican immigrants in the United States... The Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration of the United States Department of Labor for the year ending June, 1927, shows that nearly one-half of the immigrants come from countries in the Western Hemisphere, particularly Canada and Mexico, and that Mexico is far in the lead... The smuggling of Mexicans across the border, it is said, is an easy process, as much of the southern boundary is unguarded and the Rio Grande, which forms the greater part of it, is easily crossed. The Secretary of Labor says, 'We estimate that more than one million Mexicans are illegally in this country.' Some of those working with Mexicans say that for every one who enters legally there are three who enter illegally. From figures available by the United States Department of Labor, the five Southwestern states visited have a Mexican population estimated as follows: Texas, 555,000; California, 350,000; New Mexico, 180,000; Colorado, 70,000; Arizona, 60,000. No longer, however, can it be said that the Mexicans are confined to the Southwest. They are found in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, lowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania and even New York. They are in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. They are found in the South in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. There is hardly a state where they have not penetrated."Linna E. Bresette "Mexicans in the United States: A Report of a Brief Survey," National Catholic Welfare Conference, 1929
1929-1936 - Mexican “Repatriation Act” Forces Immigrants in the United States Back to Mexico

Mexican immigrants await deportation to Mexico in 1932 in a Los Angeles train station
"California Passes Bill Urging Schools to Teach 1930s Mass Deportation of Mexicans," latino.fox.news.com, Sep. 10, 2015
USA TODAY “U.S. Urged to Apologize for 1930s Deportations,” www.usatoday.com, Apr. 5, 2006
June 29, 1940 - Alien Registration Act Seeks to Undermine Left-Wing Political Groups by Registering 4,741,971 Immigrants
"The Alien Registration Act
John Simkin, MPhil "Alien Registration Act," www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk (accessed July 15, 2009)
Oct. 14, 1940 - Nationality Act Unifies Nationality and Naturalization Laws
"The enactment of the Nationality Act of 1940, which was approved and became law on October 14, 1940, represents the first attempt ever made since the founding of our Republic to codify and unify all the laws of the United States relating to the important subjects of nationality and naturalization."George S. Knight, "Nationality Act of 1940," American Bar Association Journal, Dec. 1940
Feb. 19, 1942 - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs Executive Order 9066 Sending Tens of Thousands of Japanese Americans (Among Others) to Internment Camps
"President Roosevelt, encouraged by officials at all levels of the federal government, authorized the internment of tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066
History Matters "Executive Order 9066: The President Authorizes Japanese Relocation," www.historymatters.gmu.edu (accessed July 15, 2009)
1942-1945 - US Government Sends almost 900 Native Alaskans to Internment Camps

Aleutian family in an internment camp in the 1940s
National WWII Museum, "Aleutian Internment and the Battle for Alaska," www.nww2.com, Aug. 3, 2014
US National Parks Service “Aleutian World War II: Evacuation and Internment, 1942-1945,” www.nps.gov (accessed Jan. 22, 2015)
1943-1944 - US Supreme Court Justifies Executive Order 9066 in Hirabayashi v. The United States and Korematsu v. The United States

Picture of a Hollywood home displaying anti-Japanese sentiments, ca. 1942.
Source: Latin American Studies, www.latinamericanstudies.org (accessed July 21, 2009)


Melvin I. Urofsky, JD, PhD "Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy," www.usinfo.org (accessed July 15, 2009)
1943 - Bracero Program Brings 5,000,000 Mexican Temporary Laborers to Work in US Farms and Railroads in a 22-Year Period
"World War II had drained enough US manpower to force Washington to look abroad for recruits to support a wartime economy. Bilateral talks resulted in a special program that allowed migrant laborers to work on US farms and railroads. Regulated by both governments, this agreement ended the system of private labor recruitment and introduced a new phase of negotiation. After having tried to dissuade Mexicans from migrating for half a century, the US government now began to organize and channel huge numbers of migrant workers—braceros—across its border. This phase, which lasted 22 years, molded a unique type of migrant: young, male temporary laborers from rural areas who went to live in the US and work in agriculture. Through tense, arduous annual negotiations, the 'Bracero' program established a 'binational collective labor agreement' that mobilized more than five million temporary workers."Jorge Durand, PhD "From Traitors to Heroes: 100 Years of Mexican Migration Policies," Migration Policy Institute, Mar. 2004
Dec. 17, 1943 - Magnuson Immigration Act of 1943 Allows Chinese to Become US Citizens
"After China became an ally during World War II, the exclusion laws proved to be an embarrassment and were finally repealed by the Magnuson Act in 1943
William Wei, PhD "The Chinese-American Experience: An Introduction," www.HarpWeek.com (accessed June 8, 2009)
1945 - War Brides and Fiancées Acts Allow an Estimated 1,000,000 American Soldiers to Bring Their Foreign Spouses to America
"[B]etween the years 1942 and 1952, about one million American soldiers married foreign women from 50 different countries... War brides who could not enter the country due to the immigration quotas were stuck in their home countries without their husbands and often with babies or young children. In an effort to resolve the situation, the US Congress passed Public Law 271, the War Brides Act, in 1945. The act facilitated entrance to the United States for alien wives (or husbands), and minor children of US citizens who had been in active service during World War II, by granting them non-quota status. So, even if 150,000 immigrants had already entered the United States in a given year, they would still be accepted. The act remained in effect for three years. Six months later, Congress enacted Public Law 471, the Fiancées Act, which granted fiancées of US servicemen three-month visas as temporary visitors. If a couple did not wed during that three-month period, the fiancée would be returned home."Brenda J. Wilt "War Brides," America in WWII, Aug. 2005
Aug. 9, 1946 - Asian Exclusion Repeal Act Gives Naturalization Rights to Filipinos and Indians
"World War II finally helped to usher in reforms to the Asian exclusion laws. In response to Japanese ridicule of China for supporting the United States—where the Chinese exclusion provisions were still in effect—Congress repealed the Chinese exclusion act in 1943. Similarly, in 1946, naturalization rights were extended to nationals of the Philippines and India [by the Asian Exclusion Repeal Act]—countries that were also U.S. allies. However, the national origins quota system that continued to severely restrict the number immigrant visas available to Asians was not repealed until 1965, when President Johnson followed through on President Kennedy’s push for a more egalitarian immigration system."Bill O. Hing, JD "Asian Exclusion Laws," www.lawprofessors.typepad.com, Aug. 4, 2007
1948 - Displaced Persons Act Allows People Uprooted by World War II to Immigrate to United States
"On May 14, 1948, the United States and the Soviet Union recognized the state of Israel. Congress also passed the Displaced Persons Act in 1948, authorizing 200,000 DPs to enter the United States. The law's stipulations made it unfavorable at first to the Jewish DPs, but Congress amended the bill with the DP Act of 1950. By 1952, over 80,000 Jewish DPs had immigrated to the United States under the terms of the DP Act and with the aid of Jewish agencies."US Holocaust Memorial Museum "Displaced Persons," Holocaust Encyclopedia, www.ushmm.org, May 11, 2012
1950-1999
1952 - McCarran-Walter Immigration Act Organizes All Immigration Statutes into One Body of Law
"The Immigration and Nationality Act
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "Immigration and Nationality Act," www.uscis.gov (accessed Apr. 23, 2007)
Nov. 1954 - Ellis Island Closes
"In November of 1954 the last detainee, a Norwegian merchant seaman named Arne Peterssen was released, and Ellis Island officially closed. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson declared Ellis Island part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument."Ellis Island Foundation "Ellis Island - History," www.ellisisland.org (accessed July 15, 2009)
1964 - Bracero Program Ends; Undocumented Laborers Continue to Arrive from Mexico

Braceros crossing into Hidalgo, TX
Source: "Images," Bracero History Archive (accessed Aug. 12, 2009)
Jorge Durand, PhD "From Traitors to Heroes: 100 Years of Mexican Migration Policies," Migration Policy Institute, Mar. 2004
1965 - Hart-Celler Immigration and Nationality Act Abolishes Immigration Criteria Based on Nation of Origin and Race
"In 1965, the United States passed the landmark Hart-Celler [Immigration and Nationality] Act
Elizabeth Kolsky, PhD "Less Successful Than the Next: South Asian Taxi Drivers in New York City," SAGAR: South Asian Graduate Research Journal, Spring 1998
Oct. 24, 1968 - Armed Forces Naturalization Act Allows Veterans Who Served Active-Duty to Become Naturalized Citizens
The Armed Forces Naturalization Act gave US military veterans who served in active-duty capacity in Vietnam or other "military hostilities" the ability to become naturalized citizens."Public Law 90-633," www.library.uwb.edu, Oct. 24, 1968
May 23, 1975 - Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act Admits Displaced Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians
"The ill-fated war in Southeast Asia officially ended with the retreat of the United States in 1975. With this withdrawal, however, came immense responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians we had recruited in the war against communism. Indeed, many of them paid a fearful price when South Vietnam fell and American protection disappeared. In partial recompense, the United States began a refugee program to admit some of the populations [an estimated 130,000 people] displaced [into the United States]."Franklin Odo, PhD "Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, May 23, 1975," The Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience, 2002
1976 - President Gerald Ford Repeals Executive Order 9066 Proclaming WWII Japanese Relocation a "National Mistake"

Proclamation terminating Executive Order 9066.
Source: Densho, www.densho.org (accessed July 21, 2009)
Denshô "Legacies of Incarceration: Redress," www.densho.org (accessed July 21, 2009)
1980 - Census Estimates 2 to 4 Million Immigrants in the United States Illegally with about Half from Mexico
"[T]he undocumented Mexican population in 1980 was in the 1-2 million range, with the total number from all countries falling in the range of 2-4 million... Of the undocumented present and counted in 1980, 941,000 entered during 1975-1980; 576,000 entered during 1970-1974; and 540,000 entered before 1970... Finally, the estimates for 1980 show a high proportion of recent arrivals, and very few who entered the United States prior to 1960."Robert Warren , Jeffrey S. Passel, PhD "A Count of the Uncountable: Estimates of Undocumented Aliens Counted in the 1980 United States Census," Demography, Aug. 1987
1980 - Cuba Allows 125,000 Cubans to Illegally Depart for the United States
"In 1980... the Cuban government allowed 125,000 Cubans to illegally depart for the United States from the port of Mariel, an incident known as the 'Mariel boatlift.' In 1984, the United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement to resume normal immigration, and to return to Cuba those persons who had arrived during the boatlift who were 'excludable' under U.S. law."US Department of State "Cuba: U.S.-Cuba Relations," www.state.gov, Jan. 20, 2001
1980 - Refugee Act of 1980 Allows Persecuted Individuals to Seek Asylum in United States

Cuban dissidents "balseros," ca. 1994
Source: Latin American Studies, www.latinamericanstudies.org (accessed July 21, 2009)

Daniel Kanstroom, LLM "Refugee Act of 1980," Dictionary of American History, 2003
June 15, 1982 - Plyler v. Doe Overturns Texas Law Disallowing State Funds for Non-Citizens
"A revision to the Texas education laws in 1975 allowed the state to withhold from local school districts state funds for educating children of illegal aliens. …[In Plyler v. Doe, decided [5-4] on June 15, 1982, t]he Court reasoned that illegal aliens and their children, though not citizens of the United States or Texas, are people ‘in any ordinary sense of the term’ and, therefore, are afforded Fourteenth Amendment protections. Since the state law severely disadvantaged the children of illegal aliens, by denying them the right to an education, and because Texas could not prove that the regulation was needed to serve a ‘compelling state interest,’ the Court struck down the law."Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law "Plyler v. Doe," www.oyez.org, Apr. 19, 2013
Oct. 22, 1982 - Amerasian Immigration Act Gives Preferential Immigration Status to Children Fathered by American Troops in Southeast Asia
"The first U.S. legislative response to Amerasians was embodied in the 1982 'Amerasian Immigration Act' (PL 97-359). This law offers top priority U.S. immigration to chidren not only in Vietnam, but also in Korea, Laos, Cambodia or Thailand who are known to have been fathered by U.S. citizens."US Conference of Catholic Bishops "To Welcome the Amerasians: An MRS Staff Report," www.usccb.org, 1988
1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) Grants Legal Status to Qualifying Immigrants Who Entered the US Illegally before Jan. 1, 1982
"The Attorney General shall adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for temporary residence if the alien meets the following requirements: ...The alien must establish that he entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and that he has resided continuously in the United States in an unlawful status since such date and through the date the application is filed under this subsection... In the case of an alien who entered the United States as a nonimmigrant before January 1, 1982, the alien must establish that the alien's period of authorized stay as a nonimmigrant expired before such date through the passage of time or the alien's unlawful status was known to the Government as of such date."Dec. 1987 - Amerasian Homecoming Act Allows Children Fathered by American Troops in Vietnam to Immigrate to the United States
"One of the great tragedies of the Vietnam War is the story of the Amerasians–children of U.S. servicemen and Vietnamese women. There are tens of thousands of such children. In Vietnam, they were known as ‘children of the dust’ because they were considered as insignificant as specks of dust, and many (if not most) suffered discrimination, abuse, poverty, and homelessness. Although the fathers of these children were United States citizens, the children did not qualify to immigrate to the U.S. The situation was complicated by the absence of diplomatic relations between the government of the United States and the government of Vietnam… Congressman [Robert] Mrazek resolved to help these children. The result was the Amerasian Homecoming Act, which went into effect in early 1988 [and allowed these children to immigrate to the United States]."Jason Dzubow, JD "Amerasian Homecoming Act -- 25 Years Later," www.asylumist.com, Jan. 29, 2013
Nov. 29, 1990 - Immigration Act of 1990 Increases Limit on Legal Immigration and Revises Grounds for Exclusion and Deportation
"The Immigration Act of 1990
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "Immigration Act of 1990," www.uscis.gov (accessed Aug 20, 2009)
Oct. 1, 1991 - Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act Gives Special Immigration Status to Foreign Veterans Who Served in the US Armed Forces
"The Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act of 1991, Public Law 102-110 was enacted on October 1, 1991. Section 2 of this Act provided for special immigrant status… for certain foreign nationals who served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces, or will serve, for a period of 12 years. These enlistees/veterans and their spouses and children may apply to become permanent resident aliens of the United States and also become immediately eligible to apply for naturalization as U.S. citizens."US Department of State "U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 9-- Visas," www.state.gov, Sep. 12, 2008
1994 - First Detailed National Count of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Estimates 3.4 Million Immigrants in United States Illegally
"In 1994, the INS [US Immigration and Naturalization Service] developed the first detailed national estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population residing in the United States. Those estimates indicated that the unauthorized resident population was 3.4 million as of October 1992."
US Immigration and Naturalization Service (USINS) "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: 1990 to 2000," (473KB) www.dhs.gov, Jan. 12, 2004
Nov. 8, 1994 - California's Proposition 187 Is Approved by Voters (and Later Rejected by US District Court)
"A U.S. District Court judge has declared most of California's Proposition 187 unconstitutional... Approved by voters in 1994 [Nov. 8, 1994], the proposition would have denied health care, education and welfare benefits to illegal immigrants. Almost immediately, Judge Mariana Pfaelzer granted its opponents' request for a restraining order, which prevented it from taking effect. In her final ruling, Pfaelzer rejected California's attempt to regulate immigration, which she said is the federal government's responsibility. Judge Pfaelzer's ruling strikes down portions of the initiative that would have required law enforcement, teachers, social service and health care workers to verify a person's immigration status. Under Proposition 187, they would have had to report illegals to authorities and to deny them social service, health care and education benefits."CNN (Cable News Network) "All Politics: Most Of California's Prop. 187 Ruled Unconstitutional," www.cnn.com, Mar. 19, 1998
Apr. 24, 1996 - Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Tightens Immigration to Protect against Terrorism
"The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
Charles Doyle, JD "Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996: A Summary," Federation of American Scientists, www.fas.org June 3, 1996
Aug. 22, 1996 - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Denies Most Forms of Public Assistance to Most Legal Immigrants
"On August 22, President Clinton signed into law 'The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) "HHS Fact Sheet: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," www.hhs.gov (accessed July 16, 2009)
Sep. 30, 1996 - Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act Allows Some 300,000 Central Americans to Become Legal Residents
"In enacting the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996
Congressional Research Service "Central American Asylum Seekers: Impact of 1996 Immigration Law," www.loc.gov/crsinfo, Nov. 21, 1997
2000-present
Feb. 16, 2000 - AFL-CIO Labor Union Supports Amnesty for Immigrants in the United States Illegally
"Millions of hard-working people who make enormous contributions to their communities and workplace are denied basic human rights because of their undocumented status... The AFL-CIO supports a new amnesty program that would allow these members of local communities to adjust their status to permanent residents and become eligible for naturalization."American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) "The AFL-CIO Calls for Amnesty," AFL-CIO Executive Council, Feb. 16, 2000
Nov. 9, 2000 - Bring Them Home Alive Act Grants Refugee Status to Foreigners Who Return Living Vietnam or Korean War POWs or MIAs
"Directs the Attorney General to grant refugee status in the United States to any alien (and the parent, spouse, or child of such alien) who: (1) is a national of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and (2) personally delivers into U.S. custody a living American Vietnam War POW or MIA. Requires the granting of the same status to any alien (and parent, spouse, or child) who is a national of North Korea, China, or any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union and who personally delivers a living American Korean War POW or MIA."Congressional Research Service "S.484 (106th): Bring Them Home Alive Act of 2000, Library of Congress Summary," www.govtrack.us (accessed Apr. 22, 2013)
Dec. 21, 2000 - Section 245(i) of the Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act Grants Legalization to Qualifying Immigrants in the US Illegally
"Adjustment of status under Section 245(i) is one of several immigration benefit provisions created by the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act and LIFE Act Amendments (LIFE Act) enacted on December 21, 2000... Section 245(i) allows certain persons who have an immigrant visa immediately available but entered without inspection or otherwise violated their status and thus are ineligible to apply for adjustment of status in the United States—to apply if they pay a $1,000 penalty... This is an important benefit for eligible individuals. Without Section 245(i), many individuals who entered illegally or violated their status are restricted from filing for adjustment in the United States and must obtain their immigrant visas overseas... The LIFE Act also... Creates a new temporary 'V' non-immigrant status to allow the spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents... to be admitted to and work in the United States while they are waiting for a visa number."US Department of Justice (USDOJ) "INS Implements Section 245(i) Provision of the LIFE Act," www.justice.gov, Mar. 23, 2001
Sep. 11, 2001 - Terrorist Attacks Prompt US Department of Defense to Expand Military Support along the Borders
"The military generally provides support to law enforcement and immigration authorities along the southern border. Reported escalations in criminal activity and illegal immigration, however, have prompted some lawmakers to reevaluate the extent and type of military support that occurs in the border region... Addressing domestic laws and activities with the military, however, might run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act [U.S. Code, Title 18, § 1385], which prohibits use of the armed forces to perform the tasks of civilian law enforcement unless explicitly authorized...After the attacks of September 11, 2001, military support was expanded to include counterterrorism activities. Although the DOD [Department of Defense] does not have the 'assigned responsibility to stop terrorists from coming across our borders,' its support role in counterdrug and counterterrorism efforts appears to have increased the Department’s profile in border security."
Congressional Research Service (CRS) "Border Security and Military Support: Legal Authorizations and Restrictions," www.loc.gov/crsinfo, Mar. 23, 2006
May 14, 2002 - Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act Updates Immigration Databases and Travel Document Requirements
"Approximately eight months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, on May 14, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. …It represents the most comprehensive immigration-related response to the continuing terrorist threat America faces.The Border Security law contains several provisions that are critical to our ability to control our border. Among the most important are:
A requirement that the immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) make interoperable all its internal databases, so that all information about a particular alien may be accessed with a single search;
A requirement that federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies share data on aliens with the INS and the State Department; and
A requirement that all travel and entry documents, including visas, issued to aliens by the United States be machine-readable and tamper-resistant and include a standard biometric identifier."
Rosemary Jenks, JD "The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002, H.R. 3525," www.cis.org, June 2002
Oct. 1, 2004 - "Minuteman Project" Begins Recruiting Civilians to Patrol the US-Mexico Border
"In Arizona, a group calling itself the Minuteman Project has stationed scores of men and women along the Mexican border in a controversial effort to track down undocumented immigrants. The Minutmen take their name from a militia group during the American Revolutionary War. The group’s founder, James Gilchrist, says the project [since Oct. 1, 2004] has attracted some 450 volunteers from around the country. On Monday, Gilchirst said they aided in the arrest of 146 undocumented immigrants. The Minutemen have staked out across a 23-mile stretch of border northeast of Nogales for the month-long action. Many use binoculars and night-vision goggles. Some are armed with guns. Over 20 pilots with aircraft are also surveying the area. Organizers call their effort a peaceful protest over the government’s failure to secure its borders. Both the Mexican government and the Bush administration have described them the Minutemen as vigilantes. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union has sent observers to keep tabs on the Minutemen to ensure they don’t take the law into their own hands."Democracy Now! "Vigilantes or Civilian Border Patrol? A Debate on the Minuteman Project," www.democracynow.org, Apr. 5, 2005
May 11, 2005 - REAL ID Act Expands Laws for Asylum and Deportation of Foreigners for Terrorist Activity
"[T]he major provisions of the REAL ID Act, as enacted, which inter alia, (1)modifies the eligibility criteria for asylum and withholding of removal; (2) limits judicial review of certain immigration decisions; (3) provides additional waiver authority over laws that might impede the expeditious construction of barriers and roads along land borders, including a 14-mile wide fence near San Diego; (4) expand the scope of terror-related activity making an alien inadmissible or deportable, as well as ineligible for certain forms of relief from removal; (5) requires states to meet certain minimum security standards in order for the drivers’ licenses and personal identification cards they use to be accepted for federal purposes; (6) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to enter into the appropriate background information of any person convicted of using a false driver’s license for the purpose of boarding an airplane; and (7) requires the Department of Homeland Security to study and plan new ways to improve U.S. security and improve inter-agency communications and information sharing, as well as establish a ground surveillance pilot program."Congressional Research Service "Immigration: Analysis of the Major Provisions of the READ ID Act of 2005," fas.org, May 25, 2005
Nov. 2, 2005 - President Bush’s Secure Border Initiative Announced
"The Secure Border Initiative (SBI) is a comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced an overall vision for the SBI which includes:- More agents to patrol our borders, secure our ports of entry and enforce immigration laws;
- Expanded detention and removal capabilities to eliminate 'catch and release' once and for all;
- A comprehensive and systemic upgrading of the technology used in controlling the border, including increased manned aerial assets, expanded use of UAVs, and next-generation detection technology;
- Increased investment in infrastructure improvements at the border – providing additional physical security to sharply reduce illegal border crossings; and
- Greatly increased interior enforcement of our immigration laws – including more robust worksite enforcement."
US Department of Homeland Security "Fact Sheet: Secure Border Initiative," www.hsdl.org, Nov. 2, 2005
Oct. 26, 2006 - Secure Fence Act Authorizes Fencing along the US-Mexican Border

Playing volleyball over the border fence at Borderfield State Park, San Diego, CA
Source: "Viva Border Volleyball!" LAWeekly, July 27, 2006
Amy M. Traub, MA "2007 Edition: Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class," www.drummajorinstitute.org, 2007
Jan. 2007 - US Department of Homeland Security Estimates 11.8 Million Unauthorized Immigrants in US with 59% from Mexico
"[A]n estimated 11.8 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States in January 2007 compared to 8.5 million in 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, the unauthorized population increased 3.3 million; the annual average increase during this period was 470,000. Nearly 4.2 million (35 percent) of the total 11.8 million unauthorized residents in 2007 had entered in 2000 or later. An estimated 7.0 million (59 percent) were from Mexico."US Department of Homeland Security "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2007, (531KB) www.dhs.gov, Sep. 2008
Jan. 2008 - Estimated Number of Unauthorized Immigrants Decreases to 11.6 Million
"[T]he number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States declined from 11.8 million in January 2007 to 11.6 million in January 2008 [a 1.7% decrease]. The 2008 estimate marks the first time since 2005 when DHS began producing annual estimates that there was not a year-to-year increase in unauthorized residents. During the 2000-2008 period, the unauthorized immigrant population increased by 37 percent."
US Department of Homeland Security "Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2008," (534KB) www.dhs.gov, Feb. 2009
Apr. 23, 2010 - Controversial Arizona Bill (SB 1070) Signed into Law, Expanding the State's Authority to Combat Illegal Immigration
"Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law Friday [April 23] the most restrictive immigration bill in the country [SB 1070
Washington Post Anne E. Kornblut and Spencer S. Hsu, "Arizona Governor Signs Immigration Bill, Reopening National Debate," www.washingtonpost.com, Apr. 24, 2010
July 28, 2010 - Judge Blocks Key Parts of Arizona's Anti-Illegal Immigration Law
"A federal judge Wednesday temporarily blocked key parts of Arizona's new immigration law on the eve of implementation...U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton granted the Obama administration's request for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government, not states...
...[Judge Bolton] blocked a requirement that police check the immigration status of people stopped for such routine infractions as traffic violations, if police suspect they are in the U.S. illegally... [and] a section that required law enforcement to detain individuals until their legal status was clarified...
She also blocked a section that required foreigners to carry documents proving they had permission to be in the U.S., and another provision that banned illegal immigrants from seeking work in Arizona."
Miriam Jordan, MA "Judge Blocks Arizona Law," www.wsj.com, July 29, 2010
Sep. 1, 2010 - Inflow of Unauthorized Immigrants in 2007-2009 Decreased by Two-Thirds from 2000-2005
"The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005, according to new estimates [released Sep. 1, 2010] by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center."Pew Research Center US Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade," , www.pewresearch.org, Sep. 1, 2010
Los Angeles Times "A Window for Immigration Reform," www.latimes.com, Sep. 3, 2010
Jan. 14, 2011 - Secure Border Initiative Canceled
"Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday canceled the controversial virtual fence along the U.S. border with Mexico, citing technical problems, cost overruns and schedule delays since its inception in 2005. The Secure Border Initiative-network, a high-tech surveillance system to reduce border smuggling, so far has cost taxpayers almost $1 billion for two regions in Arizona, covering just 53 miles overall on the 2,000-mile border, according to a homeland security report."CNN (Cable News Network) "Homeland Security Chief Cancels Costly Virtual Border Fence," www.cnn.com, Jan. 14, 2011
May 26, 2011 - US Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Law Penalizing Businesses That Hire Undocumented Immigrants
"The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an Arizona law that imposes sanctions against businesses that hire illegal immigrants.The court, on a 5-3 vote, said federal immigration law does not bar Arizona from suspending or revoking the licenses of businesses that employ unauthorized aliens...
Then-Gov. Janet Napolitano signed the Arizona law in 2007, saying that while immigration is a federal responsibility, Arizona had been forced to deal with the issue because the demand for cheap, undocumented labor in the state was contributing to illegal immigration.
Numerous organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, argued the state's law was preempted by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which forbids states from imposing sanctions for hiring illegal immigrants...
Several states have enacted measures that seek to penalize employers for hiring illegal workers, while others are considering legislation similar to Arizona's."
Wall Street Journal Brent Kendall and Stephanie Gleason, "US High Court Upholds Arizona Immigration Law Targeting Employers," www.wsj.com, May 26, 2
June 15, 2012 - President Obama Signs Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to Allow Some Undocumented Immigrants Who Came to the United States as Children to Stay in the Country
"Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children will be allowed to remain in the country without fear of deportation and able to work, under an executive action the Obama administration announced on Friday. Administration officials said the president used existing legal authority to make the broad policy change, which could temporarily benefit more than 800,000 young people. He did not consult with Congress, where Republicans have generally opposed measures to benefit illegal immigrants... "They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper,” President Obama said in announcing the new policy in the White House Rose Garden on Friday... Under the change, the Department of Homeland Security will no longer initiate the deportation of illegal immigrants who came to the United States before age 16, have lived here for at least five years, and are in school, are high school graduates or are military veterans in good standing. The immigrants must also be under 30 and have clean criminal records..."New York Times Julia Preston and John H. Cushman Jr., "Obama to Permit Young Migrants to Remain in U.S.," www.nytimes.com, June 15, 2012
June 25, 2012 - US Supreme Court Upholds Centerpiece of 2010 Arizona Immigration Law, Rejects Other Provisions

Protestors debate Arizona's immigration law outside the US Supreme Court
Source: "Poll: Supreme Court Ruling on Arizona Immigration May Alienate Latino Voters," CSMonitor.com, June 25, 2012
The court unanimously sustained the law's centerpiece, the one critics have called its 'show me your papers' provision, though they left the door open to further challenges. The provision requires state law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest if they have reason to suspect that the individual might be in the country illegally.
The justices parted ways on three other provisions, with the majority rejecting measures that would have subjected illegal immigrants to criminal penalties for activities like seeking work.
The ruling is likely to set the ground rules for the immigration debate, with supporters of the Arizona law pushing for 'show me your papers' provisions in more states and opponents trying to overturn criminal sanctions for illegal immigrants."
New York Times Adam Liptak, "Blocking Parts of Arizona Law, Justices Allow Its Centerpiece," www.nytimes.com, June 25, 2012
Mar. 7, 2013 - Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act Adds Immigrants to Protected Classes
"[T]he VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] provides a temporary visa and creates a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants who are the victims of domestic abuse. The idea being that immigrants who are subject to domestic violence don’t report it for fear of being deported or are abused though the threat of deportation. As a result, VAWA has been a useful tool for undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows by both speaking out against their abusers and securing legal status."Laura Elise Enriquez, MA "Gendered Laws: VAWA, IRCA, and the Future of Immigration Reform," www.huffingtonpost.com, Mar. 7, 2013
Nov. 20, 2014 - President Obama Announced Executive Action to Prevent Deportation of Millions of Immigrants in the United States Illegally
"President Barack Obama imposed the most sweeping immigration reform in a generation on Thursday, easing the threat of deportation for some 4.7 million undocumented immigrants and setting up a clash with Republicans who vow to fight his moves. In a White House speech, Obama rejected Republican arguments that his decision to bypass Congress and take executive action was tantamount to amnesty for illegal immigrants… With 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, Obama's plan would let some 4.4 million who are parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents remain in the country temporarily, without the threat of deportation. Those undocumented residents could apply legally for jobs and join American society, but not vote or qualify for insurance under the president's healthcare law. The measure would apply to those who have been in the United States for at least five years. An additional 270,000 people would be eligible for relief under the expansion of a 2012 move by Obama to stop deporting people brought illegally to the United States as children by their parents."Reuters "Obama Unveils U.S. Immigration Reform, Setting up Fight with Republicans," www.reuters.com, Nov. 21, 2014
June 23, 2016 - Supreme Court Deadlocked in 4-4 Vote on Challenge to Obama's Immigration Executive Actions
"The 4-4 tie leaves in place a lower court ruling that put the Obama administration's DAPA program on hold. If you remember, back in 2014, President Obama announced that he was expanding his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded young people, commonly referred to as 'dreamers,' who were brought into the country illegally by their parents. That program shielded some 1.1 million immigrants from deportation, while the expansion of that program and the creation of another — called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) — would have shielded some 4 million others."National Public Radio (NPR) "With High Court Evenly Split, Obama's Immigration Actions Remain on Hold," npr.org, June 23, 2016
Jan. 25, 2017 - President Trump Signs Executive Orders to Increase Border Patrol Forces and Begin Plans to Build Border Wall

President Trump signs immigration orders
Donald J. Trump, Twitter Post, twitter.com, Jan. 25, 2017
CNN (Cable News Network) "Trump Orders Construction of Border Wall, Boosts Deportation Force," cnn.com, Jan. 25, 2017
Jan. - Mar. 2017 - President Trump Signs Two Immigration Executive Orders Suspending Entry of People from Several Predominantly Muslim Countries and all Refugees

President Trump signs the "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" executive order on Jan. 27, 2017, the first of two executive orders.
Donald J. Trump, Facebook Post, facebook.com, Jan. 27, 2017
CNN (Cable News Network) "US President Donald Trump Signs New Travel Ban, Exempts Iraq," cnn.com, Mar. 7, 2017
July 24, 2017 - Massachusetts Court Rules Law Enforcement Officials Cannot Comply with ICE Detainers
"The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled Monday that local and state law enforcement officers do not have the authority to arrest and hold a person solely on the basis of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer... While many states and municipalities issue guidance to local law enforcement authorities, the Massachusetts ruling goes one step further. In essence, it means that officers do not have the authority under state law to administer ICE detainers. An ICE detainer is issued on an undocumented person who has been arrested on local criminal charges when ICE believes there is probable cause to remove the person from the United States, according to the ICE website. If a local law enforcement agency complies with the request, when the person is released from local custody, ICE immediately takes the person into custody."CNN (Cable News Network) Sarah Jorgensen, "Massachusetts Court: State Officers Canot Hold Immigrants for ICE," cnn.com, July 24, 2017
Sep. 5, 2017 - Trump Administration Announces End to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program
"The Trump administration Tuesday formally announced it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — also called DACA — putting an expiration date on the legal protections granted to roughly 800,000 people known as 'DREAMers,' who entered the country illegally as children. Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke said the administration, facing legal challenges to the program, 'chose the least disruptive option,' letting the program wind down in six months, and placing the onus on a sharply divided Congress to enact former President Barack Obama's executive action into law... Duke said no current beneficiaries will be affected before March 5 of next year. But she said, 'No new initial requests or associated applications filed after today will be acted on.' Trump signaled the decision earlier on Tuesday [Sep. 5], tweeting, 'Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA.'"National Public Radio (NPR) "Trump Ends DACA, Calls on Congress to Act," npr.org, Sep. 5, 2017
Sep. 25, 2017 - Trump Administration Announces New Travel Restrictions
"The Trump administration has unveiled new travel restrictions on certain foreigners from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen as a replacement to a central portion of its controversial travel ban signed earlier this year. The new restrictions on travel vary by country and include a phased-in approach beginning next month... Individuals with that 'bona fide' exception -- such as a foreign grandparent of a US citizen -- can still apply for visas until October 18. After that date, the new restrictions on travel will begin. The revised travel ban effecting those from six-Muslim majority countries officially expired earlier Sunday, and Sudan was removed from the list of affected countries. The new list of countries notably includes several non-Muslim majority nations, including North Korea and Venezuela. In most instances, travel will be broadly suspended, while in other cases, travelers will have to undergo enhanced screening and vetting requirements. For instance, foreign nationals from North Korea are banned, but a student from Iran will be allowed in, subject to 'enhanced screening and vetting requirements.'"CNN (Cable News Network) Laura Jarrett and Sophie Tatum, "Trump Administration Announces New Travel Restrictions," cnn.com, Sep. 25, 2017
Oct. 5, 2017 - California Becomes Sanctuary State
"Gov. Jerry Brown signed landmark 'sanctuary state' legislation Thursday, vastly limiting who state and local law enforcement agencies can hold, question and transfer at the request of federal immigration authorities.Senate Bill 54, which takes effect in January, has been hailed as part of a broader effort by majority Democrats in the California Legislature to shield more than 2.3 million immigrants living illegally in the state. Weeks before Brown's signature made it law, it was met with swift denunciations from Trump administration officials and became the focus of a national debate over how far states and cities can go to prevent their officers from enforcing federal immigration laws...
The new law will largely prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using either personnel or funds to hold, question or share information about people with federal immigration agents unless those individuals have been convicted of one or more offenses from a list of 800 crimes outlined in a 2013 state law.
Federal immigration authorities will still be able to work with state corrections officials — a key concession Brown had demanded — and will be able to enter county jails to question immigrants. But the state attorney general's office will be required to publish guidelines and training recommendations to limit immigration agents' access to personal information. And all law enforcement agencies will have to produce annual reports on their participation in task forces that involve federal agencies, as well as on the people they transfer to immigration authorities.
The new law doesn't specify what happens if local law enforcement agencies don't comply with the new rules. But the attorney general has broad authority under the state Constitution to prosecute police and sheriff's agencies that don’t comply."
Los Angeles Times Jazmine Ulloa, "California Becomes 'Sanctuary State' in Rebuke of Trump Immigration Policy," latimes.com, Oct. 5, 2017
Feb. 27, 2018 - US Supreme Court Rules Undocumented Immigrants Can Be Detained Indefinitely
"The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday [Feb. 27, 2018] that people held in immigration detention, sometimes for years, are not entitled to periodic hearings to decide whether they may be released on bail...The Ninth Circuit had ruled that bond hearings are required after six months to determine whether detainees who do not pose flight risks or a danger to public safety may be released while their cases proceed. The court based its ruling on an interpretation of the federal immigration laws, not the Constitution, though it said its reading was required to avoid constitutional difficulties...
The vote was 5 to 3, with the court's more conservative members in the majority. Justice Stephen G. Breyer summarized his dissent from the bench, a rare move signaling intense disagreement."
New York Times "No Bail Hearings for Detained Immigrants, Justices Rule," nytimes.com, Feb. 27, 2018
June 26, 2018 - US Supreme Court Upholds Trump Travel Ban and Overturns 1944 Justification of Detention Camps
"President Trump acted lawfully in imposing limits on travel from several predominantly Muslim nations, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.The vote was 5 to 4, with the court's conservatives in the majority.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that Mr. Trump had ample statutory authority to make national security judgments in the realm of immigration... He concluded that the proclamation [travel ban], viewed in isolation, was neutral and justified by national security concerns...
Even as it upheld the travel ban, the majority took a momentous step. It overruled Korematsu v. United States, the 1944 decision that endorsed the detention of Japanese-Americans during World War II...
Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch joined the majority opinion.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered a searing dissent from the bench in which she accused the court's majority of upholding an 'openly discriminatory policy motivated by animus' to a religious minority... Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined Justice Sotomayor's dissent.
In a second, milder dissent, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, questioned whether the administration could be trusted to enforce what he called 'the proclamation's elaborate system of exemptions and waivers.'"
New York Times Adam Liptak and Michael D. Shear, "Supreme Court Upholds Trump's Travel Ban," nytimes.com, June 26, 2018
June 7, 2019 - United States and Mexico Sign Joint Deal on Immigration
"A U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration was announced Friday [June 7, 2019] evening, and Trump backed off on his threat to impose additional tariffs on Mexico. Trump had threatened to impose additional on tariffs on the country if it did not take additional actions to curb migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. The proposed tariffs were set to take effect on Monday [June 10, 2019], beginning at a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods and gradually increasing to 25% by October.As part of the agreement, Mexico will do two main things. First, Mexico will take 'unprecedented steps to increase [immigration] enforcement,' including by deploying the National Guard throughout the country and 'giving priority to its southern border,' where migrants from Central America typically enter the country. Second, Mexico will participate in an expanded implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as Remain in Mexico, which requires those seeking asylum in the United States to be returned to Mexico, where they will wait until a decision has been made on their case."
ThinkProgress Adrienne Masha Varkiani, "Trump Makes Big Claim about His Mexico Deal That Isn't Backed Up on Paper," thinkprogress.org, June 8, 2019
June 21, 2019 - SCOTUS Rules Undocumented Immigrants Charged with Possessing Firearms Must Know Their Unlawful Immigration Status to Be Convicted
"In a little-noticed case [Rehaif v. United States], the Supreme Court on Friday [June 21, 2019] held 7–2 that undocumented immigrants charged with possessing firearms must know their unlawful [immigration] status to be convicted of a crime…The facts of the case are as follows: Hamid Rehaif came to Florida, flunked out of school, and overstayed his student visa. Then he went to a firing range and shot two guns. The federal government tried him for 'possessing firearms as an alien unlawfully in the United States,' which carries up to a 10-year sentence for those who 'knowingly' violate it…
Notably, this issue won't just apply to people who are currently charged. Typically, decisions like these also apply retroactively to people who are on direct appeal from their convictions. That means many people currently languishing in federal custody may have an opportunity to challenge their convictions… This case may not resonate solely at the federal level. Many states model their statutes on federal law, and may find themselves bound to follow the Supreme Court's interpretation where the language is identical."
Slate Magazine Andrew Fleishman, "The Supreme Court Just Showed a Way Forward on Criminal Justice Reform," slate.com, June 21, 2019
July 9, 2019 - California Becomes First State to Extend Medicaid to Undocumented Immigrant Young Adults
"California has become the first state to extend health care coverage to some undocumented young adults through its Medicaid program.Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday [July 9, 2019] signed SB-104, which extends health care benefits to individuals 19 to 25 years of age, regardless of their immigration status... It is expected to cover some 90,000 low-income residents between the ages of 19 and 25 and to cost the state $98 million in its initial year. The coverage would take effect in 2020, according to the legislation.
The federal Medicaid program prohibits payment to a state for medical assistance furnished to an undocumented immigrant who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law, according to the bill."
CNN (Cable News Network) Devan Cole and Sarah Moon, "California Gov Signs Health Care Bill Extending Coverage to Some Undocumented Residents," cnn.com, July 10, 2019
Dec. 12, 2019 - American Samoans Ruled US Citizens by Birth
"A federal judge in Utah said Thursday that American Samoans are US citizens and should be issued new passports reflecting that.'This court is not imposing 'citizenship by judicial fiat.' The action is required by the mandate of the Fourteenth Amendment as construed and applied by Supreme Court precedent,' wrote Judge Clark Waddoups in the US District Court for the District of Utah...
It's unclear whether Waddoups' order applies to American Samoans beyond Utah...
American Samoa has been a US territory since 1900. Those born in the other US territories -- Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Marianas -- all get citizenship at birth, but that was determined by statute in Congress. No such law exists for American Samoa.
American Samoans living in Utah brought the suit in 2018, arguing that being 'non-citizen nationals,' instead of US citizens closed the door to some employment opportunities and didn't allow them to vote, among other rights afforded to US citizens.
Their passports also include a disclaimer that reads: 'The bearer is a United States national and not a United States citizen.'"
Priscilla Alvarez, "Federal Judge Rules American Samoans Are US Citizens by Birth," cnn.com, Dec. 12, 2019
Mar. 2020 - US Immigration Policy Adjusted in Response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic
In Mar. 2020, in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Trump administration changed some immigration rules, including:-
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- Mar. 10: The Office of Refugee Resettlement temporarily stopped placing immigrant children in Washington state or California.
- Mar. 13: Travel from China and Iran was restricted earlier in the year and 26 European countries were added to the list in March. Green card holders and immediate family members must face additional health screenings to enter the US.
- Mar. 13: Social visitation to all ICE detention facilities was temporarily stopped.
- Mar. 16: Travel restrictions were extended to include Ireland and the UK.
- Mar. 17: A day after Guatemala closed its borders, an asylum agreement between the country and the US was suspended.
- Mar. 17: ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) will reschedule in-person appointments for immigrants who are not in detention and recent arrivals will be required to check in at 60 days after arrival instead of 30.
- Mar. 17: US Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended all in-person services, including naturalization ceremonies.
- Mar. 18: ICE suspends deportation flights to China, Italy, and South Korea.
- Mar. 18. Refugee admissions were paused after the International Organization for Migration, the organization that books flights, suspended resettlement travel.
- Mar. 18: Nonessential travel between Canada and the US has been paused by mutual agreement.
- Mar. 18: The DOJ (Department of Justice) closed more immigration courts and postponed all hearings for immigrants who are not in detention.
- Mar. 18: ICE dialed back operations, focusing on undocumented immigrants who are “subject to mandatory detention based on criminal grounds.”
- Mar. 20: The US and Mexico announced a joint effort to restrict non-essential travel between the two countries.
- Mar. 22: Trump announced undocumented immigrants could be tested for COVID-19 (coronavirus) without fear of arrest or deportation.
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Priscilla Alvarez, "12 Changes to the US Immigration System during the Coronavirus Pandemic," cnn.com, Mar. 18, 2020
Brett Samuels, "Trumps Says Undocumented Immigrants Can Get Tested for Coronavirus without Fear of Deportation," thehill.com, Mar. 22, 2020
Brett Samuels, "US Announces Travel Restrictions with Mexico, Citing Coronavirus," thehill.com, Mar. 20, 2020
Apr. 22, 2020 - No COVID-19 Student Federal Aid or Stimulus Checks for Undocumented Immigrants and Spouses
Guidance issued on Apr. 21, 2020 by the Education Department bars undocumented students from receiving federal COVID-19 stimulus aid. The aid is meant to pay for expenses including food, housing, and childcare due to the unavailability of college services because of COVID-19 (coronavirus) school closures. $6 billion in aid was distributed to colleges and universities for the institutions to grant to students.
Education Department Spokesperson Angela Morabito stated, "The CARES Act makes clear that this taxpayer funded relief fund should be targeted to U.S. citizens, which is consistently echoed throughout the law."
The CARES Act also provides $1,200 stimulus checks to American citizens earning up to $75,000 and an additional $500 per child. However, undocumented immigrants are excluded, even those in the process of obtaining legal status. And American citizens who are married to undocumented immigrants and file taxes jointly will not receive stimulus checks. Over one million Americans are estimated to not receive stimulus checks because they are married to an undocumented immigrant.
Tal Axelrod, "DeVos Blocks Undocumented College Students from Receiving Emergency Aid amid Pandemic," thehill.com, Apr. 21, 2020
Jennie Jarvie, "These U.S. Citizens Won't Get Coronavirus Stimulus Checks - Because Their Spouses Are Immigrants," latimes.com, Apr. 22, 2020
Apr. 22, 2020 - Trump Halts Immigration during COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic
On Apr. 20, 2020, President Trump tweeted, "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!"
Trump signed the executive order on Apr. 22, 2020, officially suspending immigration for people who are outside the US, do not have an immigrant visa, and do not have official travel documents other than visas. The order is expected to prevent thousands from immigrating.
The executive order is in effect for 60 days, but may be renewed or modified before it expires.
Trump stated, "This order will ensure that unemployed Americans of all backgrounds will be first in line for jobs as our economy reopens."
Exceptions to the order include: healthcare workers; US military members, their spouses, and children; the spouses and minor children of US citizens; people entering for national security or law enforcement reasons; investor visas; and Iraqi and Afghan nationals who have worked for the federal government.
Priscilla Alvarez, "What Trump's New Executive Order on Immigration Covers," cnn.com, Apr. 23, 2020
Betsy Klein, Priscilla Alvarez, and Kevin Liptak, "Trump Claims He Will Temporarily Suspend Immigration into US due to Coronavirus Fears," cnn.com, Apr. 21, 2020
Barbara Sprunt, "READ: Trump Signs Proclamation Temporarily Suspending Immigration," npr.org, Apr. 22, 2020
Donald J. Trump Twitter.com, Apr. 20, 2020
May 7, 2020 - Illegal Border Crossings from Canada to US Increased 184% from 2016 to 2019
Illegal border crossings from Canada to the United States increased from 558 people in 2016 to 1,586 people in 2019, according to data obtained by the Associated Press (AP) and published on May 7, 2020.Though illegal immigration via the northern border has increased, the total is less than 1% of the illegal crossings at the US/Mexico border.
In 2016, 3.6% of people crossing the northern border illegally were Mexican. That percentage jumped to 28% in 2019. Romanians, including many ethnic Roma, Haitians, and Indians were among other nationalities crossing the border illegally.
Wilson Ring, "US Northern Border Illegal Crossings Rise; Many Are Mexicans," apnews.com, May 7, 2020
June 15, 2020 - Supreme Court Declines to Hear Sanctuary Policy Case
The Supreme Court declined to review United States v. California, No. 19-532. As a result, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling stands, allowing California's sanctuary policy to remain in effect. The lower court ruling stated that the policy "may well frustrate the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts... [But] whatever the wisdom of the underlying policy adopted by California, that frustration is permissible, because California has the right."The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the lower court ruling, arguing that sanctuary policies conflicted with federal law and posed a public safety risk. The petition stated, "When officers are unable to arrest aliens — often criminal aliens — who are in removal proceedings or have been ordered removed from the United States, those aliens instead return to the community, where criminal aliens are disproportionately likely to commit crimes."
Adam Liptak, "Supreme Court Won’t Hear Case on California Sanctuary Law," nytimes.com, June 15, 2020
June 18, 2020 - Supreme Court Blocks Effort to End DACA
On June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration had not given adequate justification for ending the program, leaving DACA in place. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion, "The dispute before the Court is not whether [Department of Homeland Security] may rescind DACA. All parties agree that it may. The dispute is instead primarily about the procedure the agency followed in doing so."John Kruzel, "Supreme Court Blocks Trump Plan to End DACA Program," thehill.com, June, 18, 2020
Aug. 3, 2020 - Some Immigrations Fees to Increase
According to the Aug. 3, 2020 Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security will raise some immigration and naturalization fees beginning on Oct. 2, 2020. Online naturalization application fees will increase from $640 to $1,160. The US will join only three other countries (Australia, Fiji, and Iran) that charge a fee for asylum seekers with a $50 charge. A proposed $275 DACA renewal fee was scrapped and genealogy fees will be lowered.Department of Homeland Security, "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements," federal register.gov, Aug. 3, 2020
Geneva Sands, "US to Raise Naturalization Application Fees by $500," cnn.com, July 31, 2020
[Editor’s Note: Judge Jeffrey White, US District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, blocked the fee increase on Sep. 30, 2020. He wrote, “Plaintiffs persuasively argue that the public interest would be served by enjoining or staying the effective date of the Final Rule because if it takes effect, it will prevent vulnerable and low-income applicants from applying for immigration benefits, will block access to humanitarian protections, and will expose those populations to further danger… Plaintiffs also cite comments and research that argue the public at large would be harmed if the Final Rule goes into effect because it will negatively impact tax revenues and would delay individuals seeking to naturalize from participating in essential civic activities like voting, service in public office, and jury service. Defendants do not counter those arguments.”
Source: Priscilla Alvarez, “Federal Judge Blocks Attempt to Hike Naturalization Fees by 80%,” cnn.com, Sep. 30, 2020]
Nov. 3, 2020 - Colorado and Florida Vote to Amend Constitutions to Include Citizenship Requirement for Voting
Colorado and Florida voters passed Amendment 76 and Amendment 1 respectively to amend the state constitutions to include a citizenship requirement for voting. Both constitutions are expected to be amended to state that "only a citizen" who is 18 years of age or older may vote.Ballotpedia, "Colorado Amendment 76, Citizenship Requirement for Voting Initiative (2020)," ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 4, 2020)
Ballotpedia, "Florida Amendment 1, Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative (2020)," ballotpedia.org (accessed Nov. 4, 2020)
Dec. 1, 2020 - Trump Administration Updates Citizenship Test
The citizenship test now requires applicants to answer 12 questions of 20 correctly, as opposed to six of 10. Applicants now must study a list of 128 potential questions, as opposed to 100 potential questions.18 possible questions were removed (11 that had simple answers), and were replaced with more nuanced, complicated questions that could have subjective answers such as "Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?" and "Supreme Court Justices serve for life. Why?"
Other questions' answers were revised. For example, the answer to "Who does a US Senator represent?" used to be "all people of the state." Now the correct answer for the test is "citizens in the state."
Critics say the test is now unnecessarily difficult, requires a higher level of English fluency, and accuse the administration of limiting citizenship for political reasons. President-elect Biden can reverse the changes when he takes office in 2021.
Gina Pollack, "The U.S. Citizenship Test Just Got Harder. Would You Pass?," laist.com, Dec. 2, 2020
Simon Romero and Miriam Jordan, "New U.S. Citizenship Test Is Longer and More Difficult," nytimes.com, Dec. 3, 2020
Dec. 4, 2020 - Federal Judge Orders DACA Restoration
US District Court Judge Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered the Trump administration to restore DACA to the terms "prior to the attempted rescission of September 2017," and to reinstate two-year permits.As of July 2020, there are an estimated 300,000 people eligible for DACA who are waiting to apply, including 55,000 who have become of eligible age in the last three years.
Vanessa Romo, "Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore DACA as It Existed under Obama," npr.org, Dec. 4, 2020
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