Immigration Flashcards
What immigration change occurred in 1790?
The Naturalization Act limited citizenship to “free white persons” with 2 years of residence.
What immigration change occurred in 1798?
The Alien and Sedition Acts allowed the president to deport foreigners deemed dangerous.
What immigration change occurred in 1808?
Congress banned the importation of enslaved Africans.
What immigration change occurred in 1875?
The Page Act banned Chinese women and forced laborers — first federal immigration restriction.
What immigration change occurred in 1882?
The Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese laborers; the Immigration Act imposed a head tax and excluded “undesirables.”
What immigration change occurred in 1891?
The federal government took full control of immigration enforcement.
What immigration change occurred in 1907?
The Gentlemen’s Agreement limited Japanese emigration to the U.S.
What immigration change occurred in 1917?
The Immigration Act created an “Asiatic Barred Zone” and required a literacy test.
What immigration change occurred in 1921?
The Emergency Quota Act introduced national quotas, favoring Northern Europeans.
What immigration change occurred in 1924?
The National Origins Act solidified quotas based on the 1890 census and banned all Asian immigration.
What immigration change occurred in 1942?
The Bracero Program began, allowing temporary Mexican labor during WWII.
What immigration change occurred in 1943?
The Magnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act and allowed a small quota.
What immigration change occurred in 1952?
The McCarran-Walter Act retained quotas and added ideological (anti-communist) screening, but allowed Asian naturalization.
What immigration change occurred in 1965?
The Hart-Celler Act ended national origin quotas and emphasized family reunification and skilled immigration.
What immigration change occurred in 1986?
IRCA legalized ~3 million undocumented immigrants and penalized employers who hired them.
What immigration change occurred in 1990?
The Immigration Act raised legal immigration caps and created the Diversity Visa Lottery.
What immigration change occurred in 1996?
IIRIRA and AEDPA expanded grounds for deportation and restricted judicial review.
What immigration change occurred in 2001?
The Department of Homeland Security was created after 9/11 to oversee immigration enforcement.
What immigration change occurred in 2002?
SEVIS was launched to track international students in the U.S.
What immigration change occurred in 2012?
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) protected certain undocumented youth from deportation.
What immigration change occurred in 2017?
The Trump administration issued a travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.
What immigration change occurred between 2017–2021?
Refugee admissions were cut, asylum was restricted, and family separations occurred at the border.
What immigration change occurred in 2021?
DACA was preserved by executive order under Biden, though legal challenges continued.
What immigration change occurred in 2023?
Title 42 (pandemic-era migrant expulsion policy) ended; debate over asylum reform and border policy intensified.
