1917: Xenophobia reaches new heights on the eve of American involvement in World War I. The Immigration Act of 1917 established a literacy requirement for immigrants entering the country and stopped immigration from most Asian countries. When the congressional debate on immigration began in 1924, the quota system was so well established that no one questioned whether it should be maintained, but rather how it should be adjusted. While there have been proponents of increasing quotas and allowing more people in, proponents of the restriction have triumphed. They created a plan that lowered the existing quota from three percent to two percent of the foreign-born population. He also moved the year on which quota calculations were based from 1910 to 1890. Immigration policy debates took center stage in Washington and even contributed to a government shutdown. President Donald Trump and his conservative allies want to end “chain migration,” which he says allows “very bad” people to enter the United States. The restrictive principles of law could also have led to strained relations with some European countries, but these potential problems did not arise for several reasons. The global depression of the 1930s, World War II, and stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration policies served to curb European emigration. When these crises ended, emergency regulations for the resettlement of displaced persons in 1948 and 1950 helped the United States avoid conflicts over its new immigration laws.

1849: The first anti-immigrant political party in the United States, the Know-Nothing Party, is formed in response to the growing number of German and Irish immigrants settling in the United States. Over the next five years, immigration from war-torn parts of Asia, including Vietnam and Cambodia, would more than quadruple. Family reunification has become a driving force behind U.S. immigration. The literacy test alone was not enough to keep most potential immigrants out, so in the 1920s members of Congress looked for a new way to limit immigration. Immigration expert and Republican Senator from Vermont, William P. Dillingham, instituted a measure to create immigration quotas, which he set at three percent of the total foreign-born population of any nationality in the United States, as recorded in the 1910 census. This brought the total number of visas available to new immigrants each year to 350,000. However, it did not set quotas for residents of the Western Hemisphere.

President Wilson opposed the restrictive law and favored a more liberal immigration policy, so he used the pocket veto to prevent its passage. In early 1921, newly inaugurated President Warren Harding convened Congress for a special session to pass the bill. In 1922, the law was extended for two years. Longstanding immigration restrictions began to collapse in 1943 when a law allowed a limited number of Chinese to immigrate. In 1952, legislation allowed a limited number of visas for other Asians, and the race was officially withdrawn as a ground for exclusion. Although a presidential commission recommended the abolition of the national quota system, Congress did not accept it. The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States through a national quota of origin. The quota granted immigrant visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 census. Immigrants from Asia were completely excluded. Prior to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1882, the United States Congress had passed two major immigration laws. The first was the Page Act of 1875, which restricted the immigration of forced laborers from Asia. This has had a major impact on the immigration of Asian contract workers and women; Especially women, who are supposed to immigrate to work as prostitutes.

The second was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law stopped the legal immigration of Chinese workers and is considered by many to be the first major exclusion restriction on immigration for an entire nationality enacted by the United States. While both actions stem from public fear of Chinese influence on the labor market and economy, they also stem from simple prejudice and public perception of these immigrants` inability to assimilate into American culture. 1815 – After the War of 1812, peace is restored between the United States and Great Britain. Immigration from Western Europe is moving from a net to a torrent, causing a shift in the demographics of the United States. This first great wave of immigration lasted until the civil war. In the early 1900s, the country`s dominant immigration flow shifted from northern and western European countries to southern and eastern Europe. In response, laws were passed in 1921 and 1924 to restore earlier immigration patterns by limiting total annual immigration and introducing numerical quotas based on immigrants` nationality, favoring Northern and Western European countries. Learn more about U.S.

immigration through five short lessons delivered to your inbox every other day. Register now! 1948: The United States passes the country`s first Refugee and Resettlement Act to deal with the influx of Europeans seeking permanent residency in the United States after World War II. 1819: Many newcomers arrive sick or dying from their long journey across the Atlantic in cramped conditions. Immigrants overwhelmed major port cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston. In response, the United States passed the Steerage Act of 1819, which called for better conditions for ships entering the country.