Free
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 receives the most immigrants. It took the lead in setting rules. The first rules were meant to keep out those who could not support themselves. They also kept out people with contagious diseases.
As immigration grew, the federal government took more responsibility. 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 it cut immigration 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 has been a large population of undocumented immigrants. They cannot 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 to help build the railroads. But eventually longtime citizens began to resent the Chinese, because they’d work for lower pay. Anti-Chinese feelings grew. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was 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, unsafe boats. They wanted to escape harsh economic and political conditions. U.S. authorities sent many of them back to Haiti. The U.S. said they were not true refugees. They said the Haitians were not in danger of political persecution. They 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 people may risk their lives to enter the U.S. Then they work long hours for low pay under harsh conditions. Why do they put up with this? Because whatever they left behind is worse.
“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 say 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 that happened, 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 had been a Czech diplomat. The new Communist government in Czechoslovakia accused him of crimes against the state. 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
A major new law was passed in 1990 by the State Department. It 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. Preference is given to people with family members living here and to those who have special skills. That might be doctors or engineers, for example. More immigrants may be allowed in as refugees. Here is how you get to be a citizen.
