History of Immigration Law in the U.S.

Highlighted Resource

Immigration Policy in the United States
A Congressional Budget Office Paper February 2006
Good historical summary and explanation of present policy Marie Deatherage
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/70xx/doc7051/02-28-Immigration.pdf

(Note: The historical summary below was synthesized from a large number of sources by Marie Deatherage as background material drawing for MMT in 2000. The post 9/11 section was added in 2006.)

Late 19th century: exclusion begins

For much of its history, the United States allowed unrestricted immigration. For all practical purposes, its borders were open until 1875 when Congress passed a law establishing direct federal regulation of immigration and prohibiting entry by prostitutes and convicts. Over the next several decades, a series of laws were adopted that allowed the U.S. to exclude other categories of individuals (e.g., Chinese people, "lunatics, idiots, people with physical or mental defects or tuberculosis, persons of psychopathic inferiority, illiterates, alcoholics, stowaways, vagrants, and other persons likely to become public charges," etc.)

1920s: quota systems

The first law to establish quantitative limits was passed in 1921, setting annual quotas according to nationality. The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 established a national quota system on the basis of their country of origin. Britain was allotted 50 percent of the allowable number of slots; Asian immigration, in contrast, was prohibited almost entirely in this system. The numbers of newly arriving immigrants dropped dramatically during the period following the implementation of the 1924 law and continued to decline through the late 1940s. First-generation immigrants represented 3.3 percent of the total U.S. population in the 1920s, but only .7 percent during the 1940s.

World War II: identifying political foes and allies

During World War II, 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent, citizens and noncitizens alike, were faced with the confiscation of their homes and businesses and forced internment in camps, where they remained throughout the duration of the war.

In 1943, legislation was passed that provided for importation of agricultural workers from Central and South America, and the Chinese exclusion laws were repealed.

In 1948, following the end of World War II and the break with former ally the Soviet Union, the U.S. first adopted a policy for admitting people fleeing persecution, primarily intended for people escaping from communism.

1952: comprehensive legislation

The multiple laws governing immigration and naturalization were joined into one comprehensive statute in 1952, reaffirming the national origins quota system, limiting immigration from the eastern hemisphere while leaving western hemisphere unrestricted; establishing preferences for skilled workers and relatives of U. S. citizens and permanent residents, and tightening security and screening standards and procedures, especially to restrict entry and permit deportation of noncitizens either belonging to the U.S. Communist Party or whose future activities presumably could be "subversive to the national security." An Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) program known as "Operation Wetback" sought to identify Mexicans residing within U.S. borders and arrange for their subsequent deportation.

Latter 20th century: immigration "reform"

Not until 1965 was this system of national quotas dismantled as each country, regardless of race or ethnicity, was allotted an annual quota of 20,000 under a ceiling total of 170,000. This 1965 law, known as the Immigration Reform Act, opened the United States to residents of underdeveloped regions and allowed the diversification of the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic profiles of many American communities.

During the 1980s, intense public debate preceded the enactment of a new law that served to place emphasis on a particular group of immigrants: immigrants residing in the United States without proper documentation. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was intended to both curb the rates of immigration by undocumented foreigners and reduce the number of undocumented immigrants already present in the United States. Specifically, the law mandated employee sanctions against those aware of employing undocumented workers and called for a legalization program that would grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants meeting certain eligibility requirements.

In the wake of this law, additional laws were enacted, some laws continuing a cycle of restrictions for undocumented immigrants, other laws contributing to an effort to compensate for exclusionary provisions of past legislation. This law also sought to strengthen the entry of immigrants with desirable job skills and financial resources. Before, immigration was based more or less on family relationships. The Immigration Act of 1990 raised the ceiling of the total number of immigrants per year to 675,000 and attempted to revise the grounds by which immigrants were either prohibited from entry or deported. However, one of the most recent laws, enacted in 1996, once again targeted undocumented immigrants and carried implications suggesting an unprecedented impact on this population.

Developments in national immigration policies over the past century have reflected shifts in the political climate of the time as well as reactions to demographic changes in the population residing within U.S. borders. Current immigration laws also reflect such shifts as well as renewed trends toward exclusion of selected groups of immigrants.

The Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) in 1996 aimed primarily to prevent and remedy patterns of illegal immigration, although various provisions also create new restrictions for documented or "legal" immigrants and their families. It has been roundly criticized by immigrant rights groups. The American Civil Liberties Union stated, "if fully implemented, [this] immigration bill will deny protection to refugees, [deny] the courts the power to stop illegal INS actions, and...will undermine the rights of all workers."

Post 9/11: Reaction and restriction

Major changes in U.S. immigration law occurred after Sept. 11, 2001, which effectively further limited and reduced refugee resettlement and immigration. On March 1, 2003, service and benefit functions of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) transitioned into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). More information is available at:

http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/washington_lawyer/august_2003/immigration.cfm

http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=78

http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=52

http://www.refugees.org/data/refugee_reports/archives/2002/may.pdf

History of Immigration in Oregon

Best resource

Atlas of Oregon, 2001, pages 40-43 Includes historic maps of Origin of Foreign Born across Oregon from 1870 through 1990. (in MMT Library)

Summary

The initial European settlement of the Willamette Valley in the mid-19th century included many immigrants from Germany and the United Kingdom. In Eastern Oregon, the largest single immigrant group was Chinese.

Major immigrant groups arriving in Oregon between 1880 and 1910 were from Canada, Germany and Italy. Scandanavians settled mostly along the Oregon coast, working primarily in fishing and maritime-related industries.Chinese immigrants played an important role in railroad construction, mining, and the Columbia River canning industry. In the 1870s and 80s, Chinese population tended to cluster in urban enclaves, due in part to bigotry.Oregon's Japanese population grew rapidly in the early 20th century, largely in the Columbia River canning industry. Oregon's Japanese population was interned at inland camps during World War II. The Japanese population in the Treasure Valley area of Malheur County is a legacy of that action.After the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese immigrated to Oregon, along with Cambodia and Laos. The growth of the high tech industry spurred additional Asian immigration. In the 2000 census, the number of Vietnamese was about the same as Chinese.Early in the 20th century, a substantial number of Mexicans resided in Oregon, especially in rural area, working mostly as seasonal agriculture workers. Immigration from Mexico increased greatly during World War II when the "bracero" program recruited contract workers to alleviate serious agricultural labor shortages in the U.S.Hispanics are now the state's most numerous minority group, largely of Mexican origin although Portland also has a substantial number of Central American immigrants. The number of Hispanics in Oregon doubled from 1990 to 2000.

Other notable immigrant groups in Oregon:

Basque sheepherders once tended huge bands of sheep on the range in the Jordan Valley area, with descendants still residing in the area.