Brief History of US Immigration Policy

Ellis Island Inspection Station, c. 1910

Early Republic• Open to “free white men”

Citizenship (Naturalization Act 1802)• Good moral character• Loyalty to the Constitution• Declaration of Intention

Homestead Acts 1860s• Promise of land encourages immigration

“Old Immigrants”

•Know Nothing Movement•Native American Party

Nativist Riot, Hoboken 1851

Beginning of tougher regulations

Immigration Act of 1882• Head tax on immigrants (50 cents)• Blocked entry of “lunatics”, convicts and

destitute• Immigration made a federal responsibility

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882• Severely limited Chinese immigration• Not repealed until 1943

Immigration Act of 1891• Office of Immigration (later, INS)

1892: Ellis Island opens

1900-1920: 14.5 million immigrants

The “New” Immigrants

Immigration Act of 1917• Literacy requirement• “Asiatic Barred Zone”

All of Asia excluded, except Japan• Passed by Congress over Wilson’s Veto

Quota Act of 1921• Limits based on existing American

population

Immigration Act of 1924

• Annual quotas set at 2% of current non-resident population for each nationality (National Origins System)

• Exceptions: Wives and children Western hemisphere

• Beginning of illegal immigration as a problem

National origins system replaced in 1965

“Preference” System• Unite families• Skilled workers

Refugee Act of 1980• Distinguishes those seeking asylum from

those wishing to immigrate