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American Immigration History
The First Americans
It has
long been a spirited topic of debate as to who got here first.
The
mosaic palate of peoples and cultures which represents today's America heightens
the intensity of such a debate. Discoveries made by various anthropologists of
human remains over the past few decades provide evidence that long before Ellis
Island opened its doors to welcome those seeking political and religious freedom
as well as the "adventurer, the wanderer, the persecuted, the fortune seekers,
and others" America was a kaleidoscope of ethnic and cultural groups! Thus, the
history of US immigration spans a long period of migration of many different
peoples from various parts of the world.
One common belief is that
America was originally peopled by wanderers from Northeast Asia about 20,000
years ago. These wanderers were believed by some to be the founding population
(and ancestors!) of today's Native Americans. Others believe that the first
Americans came from Polynesia, South Asia or even Europe.
Even others
believe that the very first Americans were killed by later arrivals and that
they left no descendants.
The debate rages on! However, not to be lost
in this debate is the fact that whether 20,000, 10,000 or 1,000 years ago, most
immigrant groups to America came full of hopes and dreams of the "Promised
Land".
Around the year 1000, a small number of Vikings arrived. Five
hundred years later, the great European migration began. In some cases, the
co-existence of Europeans and Native Americans was peaceful. In other cases,
there were cultural clashes, leading to violence and disease.
Many
settlers from Europe and Asia came to seek their fortune in a new country which
was thought to have unlimited resources. Many people from Africa, however, were
bought here against their will to work as forced laborers in the building of a
new nation. As early as 1619, slaves from Africa and the Caribbean were brought
forcibly to America. The information appearing below will cover only the past
400 years of US immigration.
The Declaration
of Independence
The
Declaration of Independence, announcing the separation of the colonies from
Great Britain, and establishing themselves at the United States, is considered
the most important of all American documents, and a national symbol of
liberty.
Thomas Jefferson drafted the document between June 11 - June 28,
1776. His unparalleled expression of "self-evident truths" conveyed the
convictions of the American people for individual liberty and enumerated their
grievances against the King to justify their breaking from the mother country.
The Declaration of Independence asserts the fundamental American ideal of
government, but it was based upon the theory of "natural rights" previously
proclaimed by writers : John Locke, Emerich Vattel and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776.
Significant
Historic Dates
Affecting US 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 U.S.
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 which 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. 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 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 (BICE)
US immigration
Today
The
intrinsic beauty of American US immigration today is that it allows freedom and
opportunity to all. US immigration policy does not discriminate based on race,
religion, creed and color. In fact, the multicultural and multiracial fibers
woven into the fabric of present day America is the direct result of US
immigration policies, practices, and U.S. Government legislation.
Today's immigrants come from all parts of the world. The current phase of US
immigration history followed the elimination of strict quotas based on
nationality. In 1978, the U. S. government set an annual world-wide quota of
290,000. This ceiling was raised again in 1990 to 700,000. Immigrants have
arrived at a pace that at times has exceeded 1,000,000 new arrivals per year.
These new arrivals have settled in all parts of the country. America is a nation
of immigrants! We are all sons and daughters of immigrants. The cultural
diversity of America has served to enrich and strengthen the nation. The
greatness of America is merely a reflection of the sacrifice, contributions and
efforts of immigrants. They have greatly enriched the history of the United
States. There is reason to celebrate the richness of the cultural diversity that
US immigration has brought to America!
Source : rapidimmigration.com
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