United Sates of America

Immigration Historical Timeline

Date

Event

1607

Beginning of Colonial Immigration; English Settlers Arrive in America

1619

Importation of African Slaves Begins

1637

Massachusetts Requires Permission to Host Aliens

1656

Anti-Quaker Immigration Popular but Quakers still Immigrate

1670

Indentured Servants Kidnapped from England and Sent to the Colonies

1700

222,500 White and 27,500 Black Inhabitants Live in the Colonies

1700

Massachusetts Prohibits "Lame, Impotent, or Infirm Persons" from Entering

1717-1769
1717
1727-1729

36,000 British Convicts Transported to America after Passage of Transportation Act of 1717
Pennsylvania Enacts Oath of Allegiance for German Immigrants
Pennsylvanias Immigration Law Ignored by Ship Masters; New Tax and Health Inspections Imposed on Immigrants

1740

British Parliament Enacts the Plantation Act, Which Serves as Model for Future US Naturalization Acts

1773

England Stops Emigration to the Colonies; Fines Imposed upon Emigrants and Ship Masters Violating the Law

1781-1788

Articles of Confederation Kept Citizenship and Naturalization of Immigrants under Individual States' Control

1790

First Alien Naturalization Act Enacted by the Newly Created US Government

1795

Naturalization Act of 1795 Adds Rules to the Citizenship Process

Alien and Sedition Acts Enacted; US President Given Power to Punish and Deport Immigrants; Residency
Requirement for Naturalization Increases to 14 Years
Congress Reduces Naturalization Residency Requirements to Five Years

1798
1800
1808
1814-1850
1816
1830 - 1847

Foreign Slave Trade Becomes Illegal; 50,000 Slaves Become First "Illegal Aliens" in the US
Native Americans Exempted from Naturalization and Forced from Tribal Land; Slave Populations in Ceded Land
Increase Dramatically
Irish Immigration to US Begins along with Anti-Irish Sentiments in US
American "Nativists" Gain Political Power and Advocate 21-Year Residence Requirement for Naturalization

1849

Supreme Court Rules in New York v. Miln That States May Take Precautionary Measures Against the Importation of
"Paupers, Vagabonds, Convicts, and Infectious Articles"
Naturalizations of Germans and Irish Are Expedited and Offered Free of Charge During Election Time
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo Results in United States Acquiring Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California,
and Parts of Utah and Nevada
Supreme Court Rules That Congress Alone Can Regulate Immigration

1849

Know-Nothing Party Forms and Pushes for Major Restrictions on Immigrants

1862

Homestead Act of 1862 Passed to Encourage Westward Migration

1862

President Lincoln Acts to Prohibit the "Coolie Trade"

Central Pacific Railroad Hires Chinese Laborers and the Union Pacific Hires Irish Laborers to Construct the First
Transcontinental Railroad
First Congressional Attempt to Centralize Immigration Control; A Commissioner of Immigration Is Appointed by the
US President
20,000 to 30,000 Expedited Naturalizations before Elections in New York City

1837
1840s
1848

1863-1869
1864
1868
1870-1880
1870
Mar. 1875
1875-1880
1880

Chinese Immigration to the United States Increases During the Gold Rush
Naturalization Act of 1870 Extends Naturalization to Former Slaves
Page Law Toughens Penalties for Transporting Asians to the United States
State Immigration Laws Become Unconstitutional; Congress Begins to Bring Immigration Under Direct Federal
Control for the First Time
Burlingame Treaty Is Revised; Chinese Immigration Is Suspended

1880's

First "Great Wave" of European Immigrants to the United States

1880's

Anti-Chinese Riots Spread over the Northwestern States; Oregon's Constitution Prevents Chinese from Owning Land

1882

Immigration Exclusion Act Prohibits Immigration of Criminals, Poor, and Mentally Ill

1882

Chinese Exclusion Act Passes and Immigration Exclusion Era Begins

1885

Alien Contract Labor Law Bans Immigration of Workers to Break Strikes

1886

Statue of Liberty Unveiled; "The Huddled Masses Yearning To Be Free" Invited to Immigrate

1887

Chinese Immigration Lowers Dramatically

1891

Congress Establishes the First Federal Administrative Agency for the Regulation of Immigration

1892

Ellis Island Opens as Immigrant Entry Checkpoint

1896

1903

Supreme Court Confirms That 14th Amendment Gives Citizenship to All Persons Born in the United States
Organic Act of 1900 Grants US Citizenship to Every Person Born in Hawaii Before Its 1898 Annexation, Including
People of Japanese and Chinese Ancestry
Anarchist Exclusion Act Enacted; Exclusion of Immigrants Based on Political Ideology Begins

1905

Naturalization Act Creates Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization

1907

Expatriation Act Revokes Citizenship of American Women Who Marry Foreigners

1907

United States and Japan Sign the "Gentlemen's Agreement" Allowing Japanese "Picture Brides" to Immigrate

1909

The Melting Pot Play Opens on Broadway; Its Title Becomes a Metaphor for the United States

1910

Mexican Revolution Drives Thousands of Mexicans across the US-Mexican Border

1910

1913

Angel Island Immigration Station Opens

Dillingham Commission Report Recommends Limiting Admission of Immigrants Based on "Economic or Business
Considerations"
Bureaus of Immigration and Naturalization Created and Moved to the Department of Labor

1914

Eugenics Movement Influences Immigration Policy

1900

1911

1915-1916

US Congress Authorizes "Mounted Inspectors" Along the US-Mexico Border

1917

Immigration Act of 1917 Denies Entry to Immigrants from Eastern Asia and the Pacific Islands

1920

Estimated 17,300 Chinese Entered the United States Illegally since the Passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act

1905

First Quota Act Becomes Law and Limits the Number of Immigrants from Certain Countries

1922

1905

Ozawa v. US Supreme Court Decision Declares Japanese Ineligible for Citizenship

US Supreme Court Decides in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind That Asian Indians Do Not Qualify for
Naturalization because They Are Not Considered "White"
Johnson-Reed Immigration Act Reduces Quotas

1905

US Border Patrol Established with Labor Appropriation Act of 1924

1905

US Labor Secretary Estimates That over 1,000,000 Mexicans Are in United States Illegally

1905

Alien Registration Act Seeks to Undermine Left-Wing Political Groups by Registering 4,741,971 Immigrants

1940

Nationality Act Unifies Nationality and Naturalization Laws

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs Executive Order 9066 Sending Tens of Thousands of Japanese Americans
(Among Others) to Internment Camps

1923

1942

1946

US Supreme Court Justifies Executive Order 9066 in Hirabayashi v. The United States and Korematsu v. The United
States
Bracero Program Brings 5,000,000 Mexican Temporary Laborers to Work in US Farms and Railroads in a 22-Year
Period
Magnuson Immigration Act of 1943 Allows Chinese to Become US Citizens
War Brides and Fiances Acts Allow an Estimated 1,000,000 American Soldiers to Bring Their Foreign Spouses to
America
Asian Exclusion Repeal Act Gives Naturalization Rights to Filipinos and Indians

1948

Displaced Persons Act Allows People Uprooted by World War II to Immigrate to United States

1952

McCarran-Walter Immigration Act Organizes All Immigration Statutes into One Body of Law

1954

Ellis Island Closes

1964

Bracero Program Ends; Undocumented Laborers Continue to Arrive from Mexico

1965

Hart-Celler Immigration and Nationality Act Abolishes Immigration Criteria Based on Nation of Origin and Race

1968

Armed Forces Naturalization Act Allows Veterans Who Served Active-Duty to Become Naturalized Citizens

1905

Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act Admits Displaced Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians

1976

President Gerald Ford Repeals Executive Order 9066 Proclaming WWII Japanese Relocation a "National Mistake"

1980

Census Estimates 2 to 4 Million Immigrants in the United States Illegally with about Half from Mexico

1980

Cuba Allows 125,000 Cubans to Illegally Depart for the United States

1980

Refugee Act of 1980 Allows Persecuted Individuals to Seek Asylum in United States

1982

Plyler v. Doe Overturns Texas Law Disallowing State Funds for Non-Citizens
Amerasian Immigration Act Gives Preferential Immigration Status to Children Fathered by American Troops in
Southeast Asia
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) Grants Legal Status to Qualifying Immigrants Who Entered the US
Illegally before Jan. 1, 1982
Amerasian Homecoming Act Allows Children Fathered by American Troops in Vietnam to Immigrate to the United
States
Immigration Act of 1990 Increases Limit on Legal Immigration and Revises Grounds for Exclusion and Deportation
Armed Forces Immigration Adjustment Act Gives Special Immigration Status to Foreign Veterans Who Served in the
US Armed Forces
First Detailed National Count of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Estimates 3.4 Million Immigrants in United
States Illegally
California's Proposition 187 Is Approved by Voters (and Later Rejected by US District Court)

1944
1943
1943
1945

1982
1986
1987
1990
1991
1994
1994

1996

2004

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Tightens Immigration to Protect against Terrorism
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Denies Most Forms of Public Assistance to Most
Legal Immigrants
Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act Allows Some 300,000 Central Americans to Become
Legal Residents
AFL-CIO Labor Union Supports Amnesty for Immigrants in the United States Illegally
Bring Them Home Alive Act Grants Refugee Status to Foreigners Who Return Living Vietnam or Korean War POWs
or MIAs
Section 245(i) of the Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act Grants Legalization to Qualifying Immigrants in the
US Illegally
Terrorist Attacks Prompt US Department of Defense to Expand Military Support along the Borders
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act Updates Immigration Databases and Travel Document
Requirements
"Minuteman Project" Begins Recruiting Civilians to Patrol the US-Mexico Border

2005

REAL ID Act Expands Laws for Asylum and Deportation of Foreigners for Terrorist Activity

2006

Secure Fence Act Authorizes Fencing along the US-Mexican Border

2007

US Department of Homeland Security Estimates 11.8 Million Unauthorized Immigrants in US with 59% from Mexico

2008

Estimated Number of Unauthorized Immigrants Decreases to 11.6 Million

2010

Controversial Arizona Bill (SB 1070) Signed into Law, Expanding the State's Authority to Combat Illegal Immigration

2010

Judge Blocks Key Parts of Arizona's Anti-Illegal Immigration Law

2010

Inflow of Unauthorized Immigrants in 2007-2009 Decreased by Two-Thirds from 2000-2005

2011

US Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Law Penalizing Businesses That Hire Undocumented Immigrants

2012

President Obama Signs Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

2012

US Supreme Court Upholds Centerpiece of 2010 Arizona Immigration Law, Rejects Other Provisions

2013

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act Adds Immigrants to Protected Classes

President Obama Announced Executive Action to Prevent Deportation of Millions of Immigrants in the United States
Illegally

1996
1996
2000
2000
2000
2001
2002

2014

Source:
(2015, ). Immigration ProCon.org - What are the solutions to illegal immigration in America?. Historical Timeline - Illegal Immigration Solutions - ProCon.org.
Retrieved March 17, 2015, from http://immigration.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000023