Immigration (1640 words)

Immigration
To US
For
many, immigration to the United States during the late 19th to early 20th
century would be a new beginning to a prosperous life. However there were many
acts and laws past to limit the influx of immigrants, do to prejudice, such as
the Chinese Exclusion Act. Later on into the 20th century there would be laws
repealing the older immigration laws and acts making it possible for many more
foreigners to immigrate to the United States. Even with the new acts and laws
that banned the older ones, no one can just walk right in and become a citizen.

One must go through several examinations and tests before he or she can earn
their citizenship. The Immigration Act of March 3, 1891 was the first
comprehensive law for national control of immigration
It
established the Bureau of Immigration under the Treasury Department to
administer all immigration laws (except the Chinese Exclusion Act). This
Immigration Act also added to the inadmissible classes. The people in these
classes were inadmissible to enter into the United States. The people in these
classes were, those suffering from a contagious disease, and persons convicted
of certain crimes. The Immigration Act of March 3, 1903 and The Immigration Act
of February 20, 1907 added further categories to the inadmissible list.

Immigrants were screened for their political beliefs. Immigrants who were
believed to be anarchists or those who advocated the overthrow of government by
force or the assassination of a public officer were deported. This act was made
mainly do to the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. On
February 5, 1917 another immigration act was made. This Act codified all
previous exclusion provisions and added the exclusion of illiterate aliens form
entering into the United States. It also created a “barred zone”(Asia-Pacific
triangle), whose natives were also inadmissible. This Act made Mexicans
inadmissible. It insisted that all aliens pay a head tax of $8 dollars. However,
because of the high demand for labor in the southwest, months later congress let
Mexican workers (braceros) to stay in the U.S. under supervision of state
government for six month periods. A series of statutes were made in 1917,1918,
and 1920. The sought to define more clearly which aliens were admissible and
which aliens were deportable. These decisions were made mostly on the aliens’
political beliefs. They formed these statutes in reaction to the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia, which led to a Russian economic recession and a surge of
immigrants used to communistic ideals bringing along with them a red scare. The
Immigration act of May 26, 1924 consolidated all of the statutes and laws in the
past. It also established a quota system designed to favor the Northwestern
Europeans because others were deemed less likely to support the American way of
life. The act also barred all Asians as aliens ineligible for citizenship in the
U.S. The act of June 14, 1940 permanently transferred the Immigration and
Naturalization Service from the Department of Labor to the Department of
Justice. The Act of April 29, 1943 provided for the importation of temporary
agricultural laborers to the U.S. from North, South, and Central America. The
Program served as the Legal basis for the Mexican bracero program, which lasted
through 1964. The Displaced Persons Act of June 25, 1948 was a respond to the
large numbers of Europeans who had been turned into refuges by World War Two. It
also marked the first Major expression of U.S. policy for admitting persons
fleeing persecution.

They
still had a quota however, of 205,000 displaced persons in a two-year period.

(3,1096) The priority went to aliens who were farm laborers and those who had
special skills. Racial and Religious factors also affected the implementation of
the Act. From June 30 until July 1 half of the German and Austrian quotas were
available exclusively to persons of German ethnic origin who were born in
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, or Yugoslavia and who resided in
Germany or Austria. The Immigration and Nationality Act of June 27, 1952 also
known as the McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 was passed
over the veto of President Harry S. Truman. The Act made all immigration laws
compact into one comprehensive statute. All of the races were made eligible for
naturalization. Sex discrimination was eliminated with respect to immigration.

However it still had a quota in preference to skilled aliens. It also broadened
the grounds for exclusion and deportation of aliens. The Immigration and
Nationality Act of October 3, 1965 abolished the national-origins quota system,
elimination national origin, race, or ancestry as