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• Not repealed until 1943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
• Exceptions:
Wives and children
Western hemisphere
• Beginning of illegal immigration as a problem
Nationalorigins system replaced in 1965
“Preference” System
• Unite families
• Skilled workers
Refugee Act of 1980
• Distinguishes those seeking asylum from those
wishing to immigrate