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The United States Constitution says nothing about immigration. Its creators left it to the states to control how many new people came in.
New York has the highest number of immigrant arrivals, and it was first to set guidelines. The first rules were meant to keep out those who could not support themselves. The rules also barred people with contagious diseases.
As immigration grew, the federal government took more responsibility for controlling it. The first national law was enacted in 1875. It mostly kept out criminals. After a surge of immigrants between 1880 and 1920, the government set quotas from each country. These were based on how many people of that ancestry were already in the U.S. The policy helped northern Europeans but cut the number of immigrants from other nations. Since then, immigration limits have gone up and down, depending in part on the U.S. economy. One result of strict regulation is a large population of undocumented immigrants. They aren’t qualified to immigrate legally, but they still want a better life. So they manage to enter the U.S. somehow. Most live in fear of being sent back to their native countries.
▲ At first, Chinese immigrants were welcomed as a source of labor to build the railroads. But eventually, longtime citizens began to resent the Chinese, because they would work for lower wages. Anti-Chinese sentiment grew. In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only law ever to stop a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the U.S.
▲ In the early 1990s, thousands of Haitians left their country in crowded, dangerous boats. They were trying to escape harsh economic and political conditions. U.S. immigration authorities sent many of them back. The U.S. said they were not true refugees. They said the Haitians were not in danger of political persecution and were only seeking a better life.
In 1994, Californians passed a controversial proposition. It was to keep undocumented immigrants from getting government benefits, such as free schooling. The courts said the proposition was unconstitutional. ▼
◀ Some undocumented immigrants are encouraged to come to the U.S. by employers who want cheap labor. These immigrants may risk their lives to enter the U.S. Then they work long hours for low wages under harsh conditions. They put up with this because that life is still better than the one they left behind.
“People are afraid to walk on the street because they believe that anyone can ask them for their papers.”
—Charlotte Lucien, publisher of a Haitian community bulletin in Boston, Massachusetts
Think Piece!
Some people want strict controls on immigration. They fear that the U.S could be overrun by immigrants who want to enjoy the high standard of living in this country. Do you think there is enough wealth in the world for everyone to have a decent life? How could the U.S. help other nations become richer? If they did, fewer people might want to immigrate to the U.S.
ILLUSTRIOUS IMMIGRANT
Madeleine Albright (1937– )
Albright came to the U.S. at the age of 11. Her father, a Czech diplomat, had been accused of crimes against the state by Czechoslovakia’s new Communist government. Here, she grew up to hold a series of government jobs. In 1993, she was named permanent representative to the United Nations. In 1997, she became the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state.
How to Become a U.S. Citizen
In 1990, the State Department passed a major new law that allows 675,000 immigrants to enter the U.S. each year. Under special circumstances, that figure can be greater, and it usually is. In 1990, 915,000 immigrants entered the U.S. It’s easier for those with special skills and for people with family members living in the U.S. More immigrants may be allowed in as refugees. Here is how you get to be a citizen.
