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In 1916" The Passing of the Race" by Madison Grant was published, that proposed just to allow the nordic race to immigrate and sterilize the inferior races.
The first official prohibition of immigration was established in 1882.It prohibited the immigration of Chinese, criminals, prostitutes, alcoholics, illiterates, Anarchists, and blind and sick people.
Around 1920 a new law was passed that said that every nation was just allowed to send a certain percentage of immigrants each year. Japanese people weren´t allowed to immigrate at all.This law was abolished in 1965.
Important immigration laws
1790 Naturalization is authorized for \"free white persons\" who have resided in the United States for at least two years and swear loyalty to the U.S. Constitution.
1798 The Alien and Sedition Acts authorize the President to deport any foreigner deemed to be dangerous and make it a crime to speak, write, or publish anything \"of a false, scandalous and malicious nature\" about the President or Congress.
1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act suspends immigration by Chinese laborers for ten years; the measure would be extended and tightened in 1892 and a permanent ban enacted in 1902. This marks the first time the United States has restricted immigration on the basis of race or national origin.
1906 The first language requirement is adopted for naturalization: ability to speak and understand English.
1917 Over President Wilson\'s veto, Congress enacts a literacy requirement for all new immigrants: ability to read 40 words in some language. Most significant in limiting the flow of newcomers, it designates Asia as a \"barred zone\" (excepting Japan and the Philippines) from which immigration will be prohibited.
1921 A new form of immigration restriction is born: the national-origins quota system. Admissions from each European country will be limited to 3% of each foreign-born nationality in the 1910 census. The effect is to favor Northern Europeans at the expense of Southern and Eastern Europeans. Immigration from Western Hemisphere nations remains unrestricted; most Asians will continue to face exclusion.
1924 Restrictionists\' decisive stroke, the Johnson-Reed Act, embodies the principle of preserving America\'s \"racial\" composition.
The new national-origins quota system is even more discriminatory than the 1921 version. \"America must be kept American,\" says President Coolidge as he signs the bill into law. Another provision bans all immigration by persons \"ineligible to citizenship\"-primarily affecting the Japanese.
1950 The Internal Security Act, enacted over President Truman\'s veto, bars admission to any foreigner who might engage in activities \"which would be prejudicial to the public interest, or would endanger the welfare or safety of the United States.\" It excludes or permits deportation of noncitizens who belong to the U.S. Communist Party or whose future activities might be \"subversive to the national security.\"
1952 For the first time Congress sets aside minimum annual quotas for all countries, opening the door to numerous nationalities previously kept out on racial grounds.
Naturalization now requires ability to read and write, as well as speak and understand, English.
1965 The United States finally eliminates racial criteria from its immigration laws. Each country, regardless of ethnicity, will receive an annual quota of 20,000.
1986 - The Immigration Reform and Control Act gives amnesty to millions of undocumented residents.
For the first time, the law punishes employers who hire persons who are here illegally.
The aim of employer sanctions is to make it difficult for the undocumented to find employment. The law has a side effect: employment discrimination against those who look or sound \"foreign.\"
1996 -The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act is passed, toughening border enforcement, closing opportunities for undocumented immigrants to adjust their status, and making it more difficult to gain asylum.
1997 With the Central American Relief Act, Congress restores an opportunity for certain war refugees living in legal limbo to become permanent residents.
1990 - The Immigration Act of 1990, raises the limit for legal immigration to 700,000 people a year.
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