by Muneerah B.

Created on: December 20, 2008

The Revolving Door to Opportunities

Just into the twentieth century, the US saw a wave of new immigration fueled by industrialization. After the First World War, the Immigration Emergency Act of 1921 allowed a maximum of 357 000 immigrants per year and the US government continue to impose such limitations since.

In 1924, under Coolidge's presidency, the quotas were based on national origins and immigrants from South and Eastern Europe were restricted. This was a drastic change in America's

policies on immigration compared the last century. On the other side of the world, Mexico was unaffected by these laws and since the Mexican Revolution was brewing trouble down south, a lot of Mexicans made the trip to El Norte. Lured by the agricultural jobs in Texas, Arizona and other south west states, many of them entered the borders illegally to avoid taxes and visa fees.

The following World War also left an impact on immigration laws. After six decades, the Chinese Exclusion Act was abolished in 1943 during World War II, where the US and China were Allies. In the fifties, immigration laws were not spared from the influence of the Red Scare. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (the McCarran-Walter Act) barred homosexuals from citizenship and also enforced deportment of people with Communist affiliations, even if they are already citizens. This was the first time that it US immigration laws was based on an ideology.

The xenophobia was about to end after the mid-sixties, coinciding with the civil rights era. With the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, previous limits based on national origins were lifted and it encouraged even more immigrants, legal and otherwise, from Latin America.

The Vietnam War brought immigrants (initially refugees) from Southeast Asia into the United States. To escape Pol Pot and Ho Chi Minh, they were a new group of Asian immigrants who differed from their Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Filipino counterparts. A lot of them eventually gave up hopes of returning to Asia and their children continued the new line of Asian-Americans.

Towards the end of the century, the US was confronted by the problem of illegal immigration which has daunted the country for decades. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 insisted that employers certify their employer's legal status and the Immigration Reform and Control Act Amnesty of 1986 allowed undocumented workers to deal with their citizenship status. NumbersUSA.com listed at least five other amnesty programs passed by Congress. However illegal immigration continued to be talked about in the recent nineties and the new millennium.

Throughout the twentieth century, the US adapted to flexible immigration laws that changed with the needs of the country and the world. It practiced amnesty with its Southern neighbors and responsibility with the Southeast Asians. Over the century, it opened many doors for virtually anyone to be a part of the country.

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