History of Immigration (primarily U.S. immigration)

The history of immigration began with the first Americans. Most immigrant groups came with hopes and dreams of the “Promised Land” and a secure future. U.S. immigration history spans over a long period of time. The first group of immigrants who came to America was Native American. About 20,000 years ago, the Northeast Asians came to America.

In the year 1000, Vikings came to America. Then, 500 years later, the great European migration began. People from Africa also came to build a new nation. Settlers from Europe and Asia came to seek their independence.

In 1619, slaves from Africa and the Caribbean were brought to America forcibly. Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson drafted the first Declaration of Independence document. The Declaration of Independence announced the separation of colonies in Great Britain. It conveyed the convictions of American people for individual liberty, and enumerated their grievances against the King to justify them breaking from the mother country.

The following are significant historic dates in the history of U.S. immigration as found on the following website: http://www.rapidimmigration.com/usa/1_eng_immigration_history.html


Significant Historic Dates in U.S. Immigration
Naturalization Act of 1790: Stipulated that "any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States"
1875: Supreme Court declared that regulation of US immigration is the responsibility of the Federal Government.
1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act: Prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States.
1885 and 1887: Alien Contract Labor laws which prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States.
1891: The Federal Government assumed the task of inspecting, admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the U.S.
1892: On January 2, a new Federal US immigration station opened on Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
1903: This Act restated the 1891 provisions concerning land borders and called for rules covering entry as well as inspection of aliens crossing the Mexican border.
1907 The US immigration Act of 1907: Reorganized the states bordering Mexico (Arizona, New Mexico and a large part of Texas) into Mexican Border District to stem the flow of immigrants into the United States.
1917 - 1924: A series of laws were enacted to further limit the number of new immigrants. These laws established the quota system and imposed passport requirements. They expanded the categories of excludable aliens and banned all Asians except Japanese.
1924 Act: Reduced the number of US immigration visas and allocated them on the basis of national origin.
1940 The Alien Registration Act: Required all aliens (non-U.S. citizens) within the United States to register with the Government and receive an Alien Registration Receipt Card (the predecessor of the "Green Card").
1950 Passage of the Internal Security Act: Rendered the Alien Registration Receipt Card even more valuable. Immigrants with legal status had their cards replaced with what generally became known as the "green card" (Form I-151).
1952 Act: Established the modern day US immigration system. It created a quota system which imposes limits on a per-country basis. It also established the preference system that gave priority to family members and people with special skills.
1968 Act: Eliminated US immigration discrimination based on race, place of birth, sex and residence. It also officially abolished restrictions on Oriental US immigration.
1976 Act: Eliminated preferential treatment for residents of the Western Hemisphere.
1980 Act: Established a general policy governing the admission of refugees.
1986 Act: Focused on curtailing illegal US immigration. It legalized hundred of thousands of illegal immigrants. The 1986 Immigration Act is commonly know as the 1986 Immigration Amnesty. It also introduced the employer sanctions program which fines employers for hiring illegal workers. It also passed tough laws to prevent bogus marriage fraud.
1990 Act: Established an annual limit for certain categories of immigrants. It was aimed at helping U.S. businesses attract skilled foreign workers; thus, it expanded the business class categories to favor persons who can make educational, professional or financial contributions. It created the Immigrant Investor Program.
USA Patriot Act 2001: Uniting and Strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism.
Creation of the USCIS 2003: As of March 1, 2003, the US immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) becomes part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The department’s new U.S. Citizenship and US immigration Services (USCIS) function is to handle US immigration services and benefits, including citizenship, applications for permanent residence, non-immigrant applications, asylum, and refugee services. US immigration enforcement functions are now under the Department's Border and Transportation Security Directorate, known as the Bureau of US immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).