Immigration Problem In The U.S.

10 Pages 2537 Words

Immigration Problem in the U.S.

The first move stopping immigration decided by Congress was a
law in 1862 restricting American vessels to transport Chinese
immigrants to the U.S. The Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885, 1887,
1888, and 1891 restricted the immigration to the U.S. of people
entering the country to work under contracts made before their
arrival. Alien skilled laborers, under these laws, were allowed to
enter the U.S. to work in new industries. By this time anti-immigrant
felling rose with the flood of immigrants and in this period the
anti-Catholic, anti-foreign political party the Know-Nothings, was
already born.

After World War I a marked increase in racism and the growth
of isolationist sentiment in the U.S. led to demands for further tight
legislation. In 1921 a congressional act provided for a quota system
for immigrants, which the number of aliens of any nationality admitted
to the U.S. in a year could not exceed 3 percent of the number of
foreign-born residents of that nationality living in the U.S. in 1910.
This law applied to nations of Europe, the Middle East, Africa,
Australia, New Zealand, Asian Russia, and certain islands in the
Atlantic and Pacific. In the 1980s concern about the surge of illegal
aliens into the U.S. has led Congress to pass legislation aimed at
cutting illegal immigration. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986 allows most illegal aliens who have resided in the U.S. regularly
since January 1, 1982, to apply for legal status. Also, the law
prohibits employers from hiring illegal aliens and mandates penalties
for violations.

Debate over immigration and immigration policy is not new to
the nation's history. From time to time, Congress jarred legislation
to control the flow of immigration. As immigration rises and hatred
grows more laws will be implemented trying to release some of the
pressure. Illegal...