Immigration Policy :: essays research papers

American Immigration PolicyImmigration has held a major government agency in shaping ourcountry. Immigrants have provided many things suchas customs, manufacturing, inventions, andentertainment. Many people today dont realize howgreatly we have been affected by immigration. Asurvey was given to ten people. The survey containeda list of people who were all immigrants. When askedhow many actually were, only one person got thequestion right. quondam(a) Immigration occurred between 1840-1890.Immigrants during this time period came fromcountries such as Ireland, Germany, and Scandinaviancountries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland).Next came the period of New Immigration. Thesenewcomers came from Italy, Russia, Poland, Lithuania,Greece, Austria, etc., most of whom were peasantswho couldnt speak English. The people who migratedduring the period of octogenarian Immigration disliked thesealiens because it meant lower wages for themselvesand the new immigrants had greater advantagesinc luding poor and political machines. These peoplealso were not willing to adapt to American shipway oflife, created their own little towns that resemble theirhomeland. They were treated as outcasts. NewImmigration ended with World War I when theimmigrant boats were being sunk. Immigration is still continue today. Current Immigration includespeople from Latin America, the Philippines, and Asia. Laws regarding immigration are constantly changingto fit the needs of society. In 1854, the Know-NothingParty declared the need for unbending limits onImmigration. Members of this party felt it wasnecessary that immigrants must be residents of theUnited States for 21 years before being grantedcitizenship. The campaign ended in 1860 during thetime of the Civil War due to the demand ofimmigrants needed to enlist in the Union Army. Tenyears later, the Naturalization Act is passed. This statesthat only " dust coat persons and persons of Africandescent, " are able to become citizens. This excludesall Asians. This trend continues for several decades. In1921, Congress decides to pass immigrationrestrictions, first establishing a quota of 350,000immigrants. The quota is increased as times change. In1995, it was passed that the total number of legalimmigrants allowed to enter the United States belimited to 650, 000 a year. Immigrants were givenvisas, which allowed them to come to this country.Visas were distributed for family andemployment-based immigrants, and persons from"adversely affected" countries. unyielding regulations havealso been made due to the large amount of peopleentering the country illegally. The nation is on the right track.