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Running Head: IMMIGRATION

Immigration: A Review of Literature

Maricruz Estrada
University of Texas at El Paso

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

Abstract

The illegal immigrants of today are very different in so many ways from those who came
hundred years ago. Immigration most of the time is viewed as the conflict, it has become a
significant issue in the United States from hundreds of years. In order to understand the impacts
that immigration brings it is crucial to also understand the evolution of immigration throughout
the history of the United States. The significant increase in the number of immigrant population
living and working in the United States has increased by almost a million every year.
Immigration is among the most compelling issues with which citizens as a country have faced.
This paper examines how immigrants have changed over the time, the consequences of coming
to the United States, and the reasons for immigrating to this country. This paper will be focused
on the history, policies, and impacts of immigration from years behind to todays immigration.

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

Immigration: A Review of Literature

Immigration has been part of the United States since the 1880s until today. The United
States is a haven for those seeking a better life. Back to the 1880s, immigrants came in search of
religious freedom and some others came seeking greater economic opportunity. Immigration may
be growing by up to half million a year. If the currently low U.S. fertility rates continue,
according to the Census Bureau, net immigration will account for all growth by the 2030s, it
already accounts for 28% of the United States population growth. Besides that, the United States
still maintains a welcoming and positive attitude towards new immigrant people. However, with
such an enormous amount of immigrants who desire to come into the United States, entry into
this country has become much more complex. As a result, immigration has turned into a new
kind of immigration: the illegal immigration. Thousands of immigrants have begun to enter the
United States illegally, desirous for to become part of the American culture.
There has been an evolution of immigration policies throughout years in the United
States. The purpose of these restrictions is to ensure the well-being and protection of the United
States and its citizens. Back to the late 1800s, any illegal immigrant had the possibility to
become a legal resident, or a citizen of the United States easier than todays process. In order to
complete this process, immigrants must face a lengthy application to receive a visa. As a result of
this long wait, immigrants refuse to apply to it. Any foreigner living who does not possess a visa
or green card is considered an illegal immigrant and has to be deported, by law, to his/her
country of origin. The implications and consequences that immigration is facing today are
attracting society socially, economically, and politically. People has to question what impacts
does immigration create to society. In doing so, four questions need to be considered:
1. What is Immigration?
2. Should the U.S. implement additional policies to control Immigration?

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

3. What is the impact of Immigration in the U.S.?
4. What are the different types of immigrants and what are their reasons for immigrating to
the U.S.?
These questions will answer the purpose of a literature review by providing the background of
immigrations history, the past and future policies, and the implications/reasons of immigration
in the United States.

What is Immigration?
Immigration has been everywhere since thousands of years ago. The United States was
founded by immigrants (Gabbard, 2014). The meaning of immigration is constantly changing. It
is the number one issue on Americans minds. Migrants decisions are shaped by push, pull, and
neutral factors in both the place of origin and the place of destination (Bouvier, 1986).
Immigration started when human beings first came to America over the Bering Straits about
20,000 years ago. In 1790, it passed the first Naturalization Act, that imposed that any human
being, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. Immigration was also for
slaves, back to 1820, when the Industrial Revolution began thousands of immigrants started
working on the trans-continental railroad. Immigration happened and still happening everywhere
around the world. In 1840, Irish immigrants moved trying to escape a nightmare back home.
Many Irish, who depended on potatoes as their main food, died when the potato crops failed
(Osborne, 2016). Years ago immigrants were also blamed as of stealing jobs from American
workers. The Know-Nothings was one of the loudest protests in 1850, they were a famous
political party for its anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic leanings. It was very common that
families immigrated together during the 1880s. After the Great Depression, many immigrants

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

returned to their native lands, including hundreds of thousands of Mexicans. In the late 1930s,
with World War II in Europe, a new kind of immigration was introduced. It began to challenge
the quota system. The United States was able to admit more than 38,000 Hungarians between
1956 and 1957. During this era, United States received more woman than men in the country. In
1965, the quota system was gone, it was replaced by one offering hope to all the immigrants
around the world. Between the 80s and 90s immigration became a constant topic of political
debate. The government gave amnesty to more than 3 million immigrants in 1986 throughout
Immigration Reform Act.

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

Should the U.S. implement additional policies to control Immigration?

There have been five eras of immigration policy in the world. Open door era, the era of
regulation, the era of restriction, and the era of liberalization are the labeled eras that occurred
since the advent of the United States. These eras were created to regulate and control
immigration. They are based in large part upon federal efforts. The open door era was from
1776-188, the decision making about who could immigrate arose in the governmental bodies of
Europe. In 1790 the Naturalization Act was created to all white men of good moral character and
was more complex that todays process. The Naturalization Act expanded citizenship residency
requirements to 14 years (Gabbard, 2014). The only way for a woman to received citizenship
was through her husband or father. Policy changed very little as immigration began to increase
from Europe. Legislators were content with the defining citizenship and allowing the borders to
remain relatively open (Gabbard, 2014). Back to 1865 and 1868, the 13th and 14th amendment
were adopted providing freedom and citizenship to the slaves. Slaves were declared as not
citizens because of the restrictions on citizenship by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The next era led the creation of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the era of regulation.
This policy is one of the most restrictive immigration policies implemented to date. Chinese
people in order to immigrate to the United States they had to demonstrate extraordinary
qualifications. The Chinese already living in the United States were victims of racism. Critics of
the act saw it as the legalization of discrimination and racism against Chinese immigrants (Lee,
2002). In 1891 policy changes began, the federal government introduced new structures.
Immigration continued to increase from 1981 to 1910. In 1910, Angel Island was established in
San Francisco Bay as a means to process Asian immigrants wishing to enter the United States

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

(California State Parks, 2011). Nativists feared about immigration from Europe and Chine, as a
result legislators began looking for ways to restrict immigration into the United States.
In 1917 Congress decided to pass the Immigration Act. The purpose of this act was to
banned individuals from entering the country. By this way, the era of restriction started from
1917 to 1964. This era referred to new provisions banning the entry to immigrants over the age
of 16. This stipulation gave cause for the implementation of a literacy test as a means to gain
entry into the United States (Harvard University, 2013). During World War II, the need to build
alliances brought a change in the American immigration policy. After this, a labor shortage
happened in the United States. The Bracero Program occurred in 1943 established by President
Roosevelt. This program existed from 1943 to 1964. The Bracero Program allowed for the
importation of Mexican labor to help fill agricultural, and later, railroad labor vacancies left open
by the war (Heisler, 2008).
Radical changes come to immigration policy during era of liberalization from 1965 to
2000.

Professor Dali,
I will extend my question 1.
For my primary source, I'm planning to do a survey. This survey will ask
people what they think about immigration, what consequences do they think
immigration bring to the United States. Basically, I'm planning to extend my
four questions into multiple questions.

Running Head: IMMIGRATION

References
Bouvier, L. F., Gardner, R. W. (1986). Immigration to the U.S.: The Unfinished Story.
Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau, Inc.
California State Parks. (2011). Angel Island State Park: Immigration station. Retrieved from
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1309
Gabbard, W. J., Jaggers, J., & Jaggers, S. J. (2014). The Devolution of U.S. Immigration Policy:
An Examination of the History and Future of Immigration Policy. Journal of Policy
Practice. Retrieved from
http://0ejournals.ebsco.com.lib.utep.edu/Direct.asp?
AccessToken=23L1S9L8SAEMEHXZXWZA9ZMZZMFM8S1YSS&Show=Object
Harvard University. (2013). Aspiration, acculturation, and impact: Immigration to the United
States, 17891930. Retrieved from: http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/
immigration/dillingham.html
Heisler, B. S. (2008). The Bracero Program and Mexican migration to the United States. Journal
of the West, 47(3), 6572.
Lee, E. (2002). The Chinese exclusion example: Race, immigration, and American gatekeeping,
18821924. Journal of American Ethnic History, 21(3), 3662.
Osborne, L. B. (2016). This Land Is Our Land: A History of American Immigration. Harry N.
Abrams.