Immigration to the US Over Time Unit 1 – American Voices

Earliest Migrants Inuit in the North (Eskimos) Aztec Maya Slide 2: Who were some of the earliest migrants?

Arrival of Europeans and African Slave Trade British Spanish                         Colonization French African Slaves   (mostly in South of US) Slide 3: Who came after the earliest migrants?

Slide 4: Where were over half of the immigrants after 1860 from?

Slide 5: What was the reason immigrants came to the US?

Slide 6: Who were the main immigrants in the West in the 1800s and early 1900s? What discriminatory law excluded them from becoming citizens?

Latin American Immigration to the US – 1800s and 1900s After Spanish American War, large parts of Mexico were annexed to the US; many Mexicans became American residents and crossed the border frequently. The Bracero program between 1942 and 1964 brought agricultural guest workers from Mexico to the Southwest. Slide 7: What was the name of the government program that brought farm workers from Mexico to the US?

Immigration Act of 1924 (Racially Motivated) Used a quota system that favored Western European Immigration and restricted immigration from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America (including Mexico.) Quota = % of immigrants allowed only for certain nations. Slide 8: How was the Immigration Act of 1924 a racist law?

End of Bracero Program and Quota System – Focus on Highly Educated and Family Reunification – Illegal Immigration Rises Termination of the Bracero program and QUOTA system that limited immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America (including Mexico) resulted in rise of undocumented/ illegal immigration. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement, favored skills-based visas and family reunification  and ended the QUOTA system.  Slide 9: What were the two causes that resulted in a rise in illegal immigration?

Immigration from Europe and Asia in the 1900s After WWII, during the Cold War, and following the wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Korea, most of the immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia were refugees fleeing Communist regimes and asking for political asylum. Slide 10: What was the main cause for immigration from Asia and Eastern Europe after WWII?

Immigration from the Middle East and Northern Africa From the late 1800s to the mid-1920s, mostly Arab Christians In the 1940s and 1950s, highly educated elites from Egypt, Iraq, Syria After 1965, a much higher percentage of Muslims fleeing war and persecution. Between 1980 to 2010, increased from 223,000 to over 1.1 million, especially after 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Syria. Slide 11: What was the cause for Middle Eastern immigrants to come to the US after 1965?

Immigration Numbers in the 21st Century 1965 In the three decades following passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, more than 18 million legal immigrants entered the United States. early 2009 In early 2009, the DHS estimated the number of "unauthorized (illegal) immigrants" in the United States at 10.7 million – the majority of them having lived in the US for over a decade. Slide 12: How many legal immigrants entered in the three decades after 1965? How many illegal immigrants were estimated to be in the US in 2009?

In Recent Years Large numbers of unaccompanied minors* fleeing Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador due to poverty, gang violence, and civil wars. Illegal border crossings have gone down during the Obama and Trump administrations. Slide 13: What are the reasons for unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to seek refuge in the US? * Children without parents

What is DACA? DACA stands for "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals," an executive order by President Obama to 1) protect undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation and 2) enable them to apply for a work permit Executive orders are not laws; and so far, Congress has not been able to agree on passing a law to make DACA permanent. Slide 14: Who does DACA protect from deportation? Is DACA a law?

Although passed by Congress in 2010, it never became law. What is the Dream Act?  Allows undocumented high school graduates and GED recipients a three-step pathway to U.S. citizenship through college, work, or the armed services. Although passed by Congress in 2010, it never became law. To help undocumented students afford college, at least 18 states including California have passed laws that provide undocumented students with the opportunity to receive in-state tuition. Slide 15: Who does the DREAM ACT help? What are the three ways to gain citizenship? Is it a (federal) law? What law has California passed to help “dreamers?”

How Does a Proposal Become Law in the US? A legislative proposal that is passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and is approved by the President becomes law.  Slide 16: Who has to pass a proposal to make it a law? Who has to approve it?

Our House & Senate Representatives Congressman Ken Calvert 400 S. Vicentia Avenue, Suite 125 Corona, CA 92882 Senator Dianne Feinstein 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 915 Los Angeles, CA 90025 Senator Kamala Harris 11845 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite 1250W Los Angeles, CA 90064