Immigration Laws In A Democratic Society Essay

Throughout most of America's history immigration was seen as a natural process that benefited the nation (Divine 2). There were no clearly defined policies on immigration until the 1890's. During this time the country started questioning the economic benefits of more immigrants. In May 1921, the first bill in American history dealing with immigration was passed. This bill restricted European immigration and created the quota system (Divine 5). The downward turn in the economy could justify this turn toward restriction. Who could argue for more immigrants when the nation's own citizens could not find work. The slowing economy and the "spirit of intense nationalism" in the United States at this time made immigration a hot topic (Divine 23). After the depression hit, everyone agreed that there was a "need to limit immigration," of course the extent of those limits was not easily agreed upon (Divine 77).

Many people from all over the world saw America as a place to create a better life for them and their family. America was a place full of many job opportunities, ones that were not available anywhere else in the world. It was in America that people from different nations saw the chance to escape the place they originally lived because of unfair government or as a chance to have money to send back to their family in their homeland. The period after the civil war was an era of tremendous migration from southern and eastern Europe as well as from China, because of all the opportunities that were available here that were not available anywhere else. Migration was also prominent within America when African Americans

America, the land of laws, the land of freedom, and the land of the Constitution. Throughout the history of the United States, immigration has been a controversial topic to debate. In the present day there are two major perspectives on this issue. One of them being the Democratic perspective, that promotes amnesty, protection for exploitation, and the Dream Act. On the contrast, there is the Republican perspective that advocates against amnesty, promotes legal immigration over illegal immigration, and pushes for a stronger border.

During the Great Depression that struck in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, the economy of the United States collapses with farmers and producers likewise losing money due to overproduction and underconsumption of goods due to an extravagant increase of price on goods. As a result, the Great Depression caused immigration and migration rates to increase. This is a negative impact on the economy because gaining employment becomes competitive and consequently, people earn a lower wage. Though immigration and migration creates conflict between native inhabitants of the land and the immigrants with employment competition, migration and immigration is vital to rebuild the economy of the United States through increased taxes and a wide array of new labor sources. Also, it enhances the vibrant, diverse, and syncretic cultures in the United States as well. Lastly, immigration and migration both promotes unity within family and their own social-ethnic groups.

Citizens from around the world have been migrating to the United States for centuries. During the 1880s all the way up to the 1920's, more than twenty-five million foreigners voyaged to America. After World War I ended on November 11, 1918, there had been a massive increase of immigrants. The result of numerous people migrating to the U.S. greatly impacted culture and society. The majority of immigrants were traveling from Eastern and Southern Europe. As immigration increased after World War I, some questions in need of answering are what were the significant reasons as to why European immigrants started coming to the U.S. during the 1920's through the 1930's after World War I? How were they able maintain their cultural identity? Immigrants decided to resettle in the United States in search of new beginnings, riches, and the

Aside from social issues such as religious freedom, immigrants have come to the U.S. to escape poverty and make a better life for themselves and their children. Until immigration laws limited the amount of immigrants from certain foreign countries, the rate of immigration from other nations had been highly correlated to the difference in real wages between the U.S. and the home country as well as the economic and political conditions.[4] When the real value of money in the U.S. increased vis a vis that of a foreign nation, immigration from that

We have created the land of free. Nonetheless, there have been a number of Immigration Acts in the United States. The first one was the Naturalization act of 1790. Then the immigration act of 1965 passed, and immigration restrictions applied to Mexican Immigrants for the first time. Nearly 30

One of the most defining traits for the United States of America is that the nation is one made up of immigrants, it is a basic building block that can not be overlooked, nor should it. That being said, it is important to countless citizens to be open when it comes to immigration, while keeping the country hospitable to its citizens for generations to come. However, this attitude to immigration is a fairly recent phenomenon in American history, especially in regards to immigrants coming in from non-Western European countries. With the introduction of the Immigration Act of 1965 and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) came about the changes to immigration policy that would forever change the face of the nation and create the diversity that has become a point of pride. The sentiment is not felt nationwide, however, as the immigration patterns brought about with these two acts has brought hostility as well, especially from those who feel that immigration is a threat to the country as a whole, specifically illegal immigration. Immigration, and its illegal counterpart, is an issue that defines this period in American history, and while it did not necessary start off targeting Mexican and Latino immigrants, it has very much been immortalized within the communities and become the face of immigrants to the nation as a whole.

In 1917, literacy tests were required of immigrants. Immigrants were required to write and read a language, although the language did not have to be English. In the 1920's, Congress instituted a series of "quotas" on immigration. That 1921 Emergency Quota Act gave that, held up by the 1910 census; three per cent of a European nationality that resided in the U.S. would be permitted to enter each year.

Immigration to the United States has become a significant public and political debate, questions primarily surrounding inflow, roles in the labor market, admission policies, benefits, and costs. In 1952, Congress proposed and passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the McCarran-Walter Act, to revise the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, and nationality.

The immigration act of 1924 was really the first permanent limitation on immigration. This limitation was like a quota system that only aloud two percent instead of the three percent of each foreign born group living in the United states in 1890. Like it say in Document A “Under the act of 1924 the number of each nationality who may be admitted annually is limited to two per cent of the population of such nationality resident in the United States according to the census of 1890.” Using the 1890 census instead of newer up-to-date ones they excluded a lot of new immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe that came by in resent years (This is shown awfully well in Document B). This acts annual quota changed from 358,000 in 1921 to 164,000

We are now in the 21st century and like the beginning of the 20th century the United States finds itself in the throes of a period of mass immigration. More then one million immigrants enter the Unites States, both legally and illegally every single year. Many argue that this new wave of mass immigration may help sustain the success that our nation is having in regard to the way of living that many American have come accustomed to and yet others believe that although our nation was created by immigrants it is time to "shut down" our borders. The truth of the matter is that there will always be issues in regard to immigration and the policies that the government sets forth in order control who comes into this country. Also now

        Ever since the United States was founded, immigrants have been arriving on its soil.  The first white inhabitants of the U.S. were immigrants from Europe.  They came for many reasons, such as religion and opportunity.  As the country grew and became more prosperous, it became more enticing to foreigners looking for opportunity.  This continued into the 20th century and finally during the 1920’s, the United States began to restrict immigrants from coming to their country, mostly for cultural and economic reasons.  Even the immigrants that were allowed in during the 20’s faced many hardships such as religious persecution, racism, and xenia phobia.  One of the major groups of immigrants during that

Have you ever wondered how immigration was in the late days? Will I am gonna tell you a little bit about it. In the period of 1882 immigration into the United States was not a big deal. Millions of immigrants fled to the United States hoping for a new life and to try to get away from plagues. There was never a fault with immigration in America or any other country. The general Immigration Act of 1882 taxed a total of 50 cents on each immigrants and people with problems or criminals likely to become independent. America was ok with Immigration till the 1870s when everything started to change also called the Colonial era. During the Colonial era Lots of Europeans and Africans fled to the world. They paid to be taken on ships with their families. Some people didn't make it they would get lost from falling overboard and drowning or die from diseases on the boats. They ran out of food to eat on the long way to America. When they got . there

During the 1920’s the United States really became a country of immigrants, even though not everyone was on board. In this time we saw immigration numbers that would far exceed the decades that would come after it and only to be surpasses by the decade that came before in a 40 year span. Almost 4.3 million people came to the US in the 1920’s and they spanned from far and wide to come to the US. Numbers would dip in the coming decades and would not surpass the million mark for at least two decades. These numbers saw drops that would relate to immigrant life and US immigration tactics.