2. The immigration debate The history of immigration in the United States

3. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. …He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

4. Early years 6,000 a year (numbers are uncertain) French refugees (slave revolt in Haiti) After 1820 federal records were kept Irish (famine of 1845-1849).5 million Germans 1850 first census to ask for “place of birth” 90% of population was native born

5. Timeline of US immigration laws 1776 - Unrestricted 1795 - Naturalization Act - Citizenship limited to "free white persons" residing in the US who renounce allegiance to former country 1798 - Alien & Sedition Acts - President is given the right to expel "aliens" deemed dangerous to country (only lasted a few years) 1850s - Emergence of "Know Nothing Party" seeking to "purify" the nation by restricting immigration and altering citizenship requirements (lasted less than 10 years) 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act - Fear of competition from Chinese workers led to prevention of any further Chinese entering the US 1885 - Contract Labor Laws - Prohibited contracts for cheap foreign labor

6. 1892 - Ellis Island, NY set up to regulate immigration 1917 - Immigration Act of 1917 - Further restrictions on immigration, expanding the classes of foreigners excluded from US. It imposed a literacy test and designated an Asiatic Barred Zone. 1921 - Congress establishes first quota system for immigrants 1924 - National Origins Act reduced quotas of immigrants deemed "less desirable", such as Russian (Jews) and Italians (Catholics) 1942 - Bracero program 1948 - Displaced Persons Act 1952 - Immigration and Nationality Act - Consolidation of immigration laws and abolished Asian Barred Zone. 1953 - Refugee Relief Act 1954 - Operation Wetback

7. 1965 - Immigration and Nationality Act - national origin quotas abolished, annual limit imposed on visas for immigrants 1980 - Refugge Act increased overall refugee quotas 1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act granted lawful permanent residency to over 2.7 million undocumented immigrants 1990 - Immigration Act established categories of employment and placed cap of number of non-immigrant workers 1992 - Chinese Student Protection 1996 - Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act - imposted strict penalties against illegal immigration and expanded definition of deportable offenses Selected text taken from www.ailf.orgwww.ailf.org

8. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848 Concluded the Mexican War Citizenship for residents 60,000 New Mexico 4,000 California

9. The 20 th. Century Mexican Revolution (1911-1929) drove close to 1 million refugess across a porous border. Some returned during the Great Depression.

10. The Evian Conference July 1938 Failed to pass resolution protecting Jews in Germany.

11. resistance “In the past 50 years, polling data have charted a deepening opposition to immigration, linked in part, it appears, to economic concerns.” National Academy of Science study: Smith, James P. & Barry Emondston, eds., “The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration” (1997)

12. Countries with the largest number of immigrants in the US CountryPopulation in 2004 Total foreign born34,860,000 Mexico 8,544,600 China 1,594,600 Phillipines 1,413,200 India 1,244,200 Cuba 1,011,200 Vietnam 997,800 El Salvador 899,00 Dominican Republic 791,600

13. We are a nation of immigrants because… 56 million people 20% of the population is either a first generation immigrant or has one or both immigrant parents. Schmidley, Dianne, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P23-206, “Profile of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2000”, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 2001.

14. Some definitions Citizen : sworn loyalty to a nation Naturalization: process by which citizenship is conferred period of continuous residence and physical presence in the United States; residence in a particular USCIS District prior to filing;USCIS District an ability to read, write, and speak English; a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government; good moral character; attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution; and, favorable disposition toward the United States.

15. …Some definitions Resident : intending to stay Undocumented : lacking permission Illegal : prohibited by law or accepted rules Guest worker : foreign labor hired on temporary or permanent basis (Federal Guestworker Program) Economic migrant: guest worker, foreign worker Resident alien: foreign national living and working in the United States Refugee : seeking asylum to escape persecution

16. …Some definitions Documents : official papers that prove the existence of relationships and facts “Green cards”: Lawful Permanent Residency Visa : allows the bearer to apply for entry, does not grant the right to enter the US (BCBP) Citizenship : membership in a political community Border : geographic boundaries of political entities. WASHINGTON October 1, 2006. (Washington Post) -- The Senate gave final approval last night to legislation authorizing the construction of 700 miles of double-layered fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border, shelving President Bush's vision of a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration laws in favor of a vast barrier.

17. Alien Any person not a citizen or national of the United States (USCIS) National: a person owing permanent allegiance to a state strange unknown dissimilar opposed inconsistent incongrous adverse not native outsider outlander Creature from outer space

18. It all depends on your point of view Emigrate Immigrate migrate

19. Something to think about What is the best way to describe the immigration history of the US? What is the current image of the immigrant? Why? In terms of “ups” and “downs” where are we in the historic cycles of immigration?

25. October 1, 2006 Congress okays 700 mile border fence with Mexico WASHINGTON October 1, 2006. (Washington Post) - - The Senate gave final approval last night to legislation authorizing the construction of 700 miles of double-layered fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border, shelving President Bush's vision of a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration laws in favor of a vast barrier.

26. Resources on line http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/ Latino studies program at Indiana Univerisity http://www.cis.org/ (Center for Immigration Studies) http://www.cis.org/ “ Pro-immigrant low-immigration think tank” http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/immigration/about/lisa.htm (L.I.S.A. Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaption Study at NYU) http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/immigration/about/lisa.htm http://www.ccis- ucsd.org/PUBLICATIONS/working_papers.htm http://www.ccis- ucsd.org/PUBLICATIONS/working_papers.htm (working papers of Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at University of California at San Diego) http://hapi.ucla.edu (Hispanic American Periodicals Index) http://hapi.ucla.edu Database of Latin American journal articles