The Naturalizaion Act was the first act that governed naturalization in the United States. This act stated that "free white persons" may become citizens if they have resided in the United States for two years and have "good moral character".
The Alien and Sedition Acts were a collection of acts that provided more strict immigration policy. One of the requirements is that noncitizens reside in the United States for at least 14 years before becoming elegible for citizenship. The acts also give executive powers to the president to apprehend or remove any noncitizens that are citizens of countries the U.S is at war with. This provesion is eventually removed.
This act imposed a head tax on noncitizens who came to the United States and prohibits the immigration of those who are not seen as mentally fit and those who are unable to take care of themselves.
The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited those of Chinese nationality from entering the United States but allowed already resident Chinese nationals to stay. This was a part of a series of laws meant to restrict the flow of Chinese persons in the United States.
This act expands on the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act by prohibiting Chinese nationals who have left the country from reentry, even if they were previously cleared for reentry.
The Geary act expands even further on the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act by requiring all Chinese nationals residing within the United States to provide proof of lawful residence. Those caught without documentation were faced with being sent to forced labor camps.
Before this act there were no numerical restrictions on who could come to the United States and is the United States first attempt to do so. This act sought to limit the number of immigrants by each nationality. The number of immigrants of a nation allowed was proportional to the size of the country and the number of those nationals already in the U.S. subtracting from this quota Black Americans and Africans along with Chinese, Japanese, and South Asians. [4]
The Bracero Program was a program to allow temporary migrant workers from Mexico to work in the United States on various employers' agricultural fields. Around half a million workers came to the U.S. each year to work through the program. The program lasted for 9 years, until 1951. After the programs ended, circular migration did not stop, but simply continued undocumented. [3]
Among other offenses, this law mandates deportation of non-citizens for drug offences.
This act abolishes the national-origins quota system and it is replaced with a system where immigrants are admitted based on their relationship to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident family member or US employer.
The Refugee Act establishes a formal system of admitting non-citizens refugee status. This act allows those seeking asylum in the United States to be granted refugee status if they fear persecution in their country on the basis of race, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social social group.
IRCA allowed for a 50% increase in boarder patrol staff,and imposed sanctions on eployers who knowningly hire or recruit unauthorized immigrants. The act also allows for legal pathways for legalization. One pathway allows undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States since 1982 to obtain papers that regularize their status. The other way allows certain agricultural workers to apply for permanent resident status. This act allowed for 2.7 million undocumented residents to become lawful permanent residents.
This gives legislators power in bypassing procedures in casses where an undocumented immigrant is convicted of a violent crime.
AEDPA establishes the "expedited removal" procedure for arriving noncitizens who are suspected of lacking proper papers or suspected of falsifying legal documentation. This procedure is ammended in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
This law expanded on the definition of "aggravated felony" allowing for a number of other crimes to be included in deportable offences. The law also expanded upon expedited removal procedures, and reduced the scope of judicial review of immigration decisions. This law increases the detention time of undocumented immigrants that are not first time offenders. It also increases the number of Border Patrol agents, and decreases the government benefits available to undocumented immigrants.
This act increased the powers the federal government has in surveilling foreign nationals. This act also increased the criminal grounds that one can be deported, mostly regarding claims of terrorism.
This act, signed into law by former President George W. Bush, authorized the construction of more than 700 miles of double-reinforecd fence to be built along the Mexican-American border, through the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in areas known to experience rates of illegal drug trafficking. This law also authroizes the increased militarization of the border, allowing for security cameras, satellites, and drones in order to halt illegal immigration. In 2018, researchers from Dartmouth and Stanford established that the fence did not deter illegal immigration, but did detrimentally effect the U.S. economy. [2]