History of Immigration in the US

General structure of immigration

Waves (then troughs) of immigration

Reasons for immigration

Reactions to immigration

Legislation reacting to immigration

First Immigrants

Native Americans arrived around 20,000 years ago

Vikings arrived around 1000

Immigration in the Colonial Era

(first waveuntil 1790)

Many early European immigrants to the colonies

came from England

Spanish colonized Florida

Dutch in New York/New Jersey

Swedish in Delaware

Slaves brought as early as 1619

Immigration in the Colonial Era

(first waveuntil 1790)

Religious Freedom (Puritans)

Economic (Indentured Servants)

Convicts

Slavery

Trough-hostilities btw
US and France

1790: First Naturalization Act

... any alien, being a free white person, may be

admitted to become a citizen of the United
States...

Immigration died down because of hostilities

between the US and Napoleon during the early
1800s, as well as the war of 1812.
After the end of the war, immigration picked up
again

Immigration after Independence

(second wave1790-1820)

Reasons were similar to before, origins similar to

before
Congress enacted the Steerage Act of 1810 which
required ship captains to keep detailed passenger
records and to provide better conditions for travelers
Records were not kept until 1820

Industrial Revolution
(third wave1820s to 1880s)

Immigrants no longer English

Irish settled on the East Coast

Germans migrated to Midwest

Chinese (railway; gold rush in California)

Japanese

Mexicans

Industrial Revolution
(third wave1820s to 1880s)

Slave trade legally ended in 1808

With Westward expansion, needed labor

Many new immigrants were very different from

previous immigrants

Different religionsIrish Catholics were the

biggest group

Many immigrants escaping famine

Immigration after the Civil War

(fourth wave1880 to1914)

Even Greater diversity among immigrants

Middle East, the Mediterranean, Southern and

Eastern Europe

Between 1880 and 1930, over 27 million people

entered the United States

Immigration after the Civil War

(fourth wave1880 to1914)

Ellis Island built in 1892 to process immigrants from

Europe
More restrictions were enacted

1882 Chinese Exclusion Act

1907 "Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan

1906: Knowledge of English a requirement for

immigration

1850 Know Nothing political party

Immigration after WW I
(trough 1920-1960)

World-wide depression, not many people

immigrating
Discrimination based on nationality

e.g., Germans and Italians

e.g., Japanese internment camps

Immigration after WW I

Immigration Act of 1924Quota act

1924 Act set the annual quota of any nationality at

2% of the number of foreign-born persons of such
nationality resident in the United States in 1890

restricted Southern and Eastern Europeans and

Africans. Banned immigration of Arabs and Asians

Bracero Program-1943

Immigration after WW II
(fifth wave 1960-2000)

Normal immigration resumed after WW II

Three doors: a front door for immigrants, a side
door for temporary visitors, and a back door for the
unauthorized
Escaping Cold War conflict (brain drain)
HOWEVER, most immigrants are from Latin
America

Displaced Persons Act of 1948accepting refugees

More women entering than men

Immigration after WW II
(fifth wave 1960-2000)

Normal immigration resumed after WW II

Three doors: a front door for immigrants, a side
door for temporary visitors, and a back door for the
unauthorized
Escaping Cold War conflict (brain drain)
HOWEVER, most immigrants are from Latin
America

Displaced Persons Act of 1948accepting refugees

More women entering than men

Immigration Issues today

1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)--A

comprehensive Reform effort

1) legalized aliens who had resided in the United States

in an unlawful status since January 1, 1982

2) established sanctions prohibiting employers from

hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee aliens known to
be unauthorized to work in the United States

3) created a new classification of temporary agricultural

worker and provided for the legalization of certain such
workers

4) established a visa waiver pilot program allowing the

admission of certain nonimmigrants without visas

Immigration today

41 million foreign-born individuals in US.

12.9 %of overall population. This percentage is

still well below the 1890 high point for
immigration, when 14.8 percent of the population
was foreign born

US Commission on Immigration reform (1990-1997

Most immigrants are better educated than ever
before
Illegal immigration

Illegal Immigration

There were 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in

the U.S. in 2014.
Mexicans make up about half of all unauthorized
immigrants (49%), though their numbers have been
declining in recent years.
Six states alone account for 60% of unauthorized
immigrants California, Texas, Florida, New York,
New Jersey and Illinois.
About 7% of K-12 students had at least one
unauthorized immigrant parent in 2012

President Obama and Immigration

Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration at the Border: Illegal immigrants caught and sent
back. Centralize border security command-and-control
Deporting Felons, Not Families: Deportation of people who threaten national security and
public safety. Anyone suspected of terrorism, violent criminals, gang members, and recent
border crossers at the top of the deportation priority list.
Accountability Criminal Background Checks and Taxes: The President is also acting to hold
accountable those undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for more than five
years and are parents of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents. By registering and
passing criminal and national security background checks, millions of undocumented
immigrants will start paying their fair share of taxes and temporarily stay in the U.S. without
fear of deportation for three years at a time