Immigration Laws
This 1882 law was the first major federal law to restrict immigration based on nationality.
Chinese exclusion act
Q: Many immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s lived in these overcrowded, unsanitary apartment buildings in cities.
A: What are tenements?
Q: This immigrant group helped build the western half of the Transcontinental Railroad and faced significant discrimination.
A: Who are the Chinese?
Q: During World War I (Period 7: 1890–1945), fears of foreign influence led to the passage of this 1917 law that imposed a literacy test and restricted immigration from much of Asia.
A: What is the Immigration Act of 1917?
Q: This 1965 law abolished the national origins quota system and prioritized family reunification and skilled workers, dramatically diversifying U.S. immigration.
A: What is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act)?
Passed in 1924, this law established quotas based on national origin, favoring Northern and Western Europeans
A: What is the National Origins Act (or Immigration Act of 1924)?
Q: This type of neighborhood, often found in big cities, was made up of immigrants from the same country or culture.
A: What is an ethnic enclave?
Q: Many of these immigrants came to the U.S. during the Irish Potato Famine and settled in cities like Boston and New York.
A: Who are the Irish?
Q: In response to anti-German sentiment during World War I, this federal act was passed to suppress dissent, especially among immigrant populations.
A: What is the Espionage Act (1917) or the Sedition Act (1918)?
Q: Since the 1980s, most immigrants to the U.S. have come from these two regions, replacing the earlier dominance of European immigrants.
A: What are Latin America and Asia?
Q: This 1965 law abolished the national origins quota system and dramatically changed the demographics of U.S. immigration.
A: What is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act)?
Q: Immigrants often worked in this type of urban factory with low wages, long hours, and unsafe conditions.
A: What is a sweatshop?
Q: Immigrants from this country were often Catholic or Jewish and settled in large numbers in cities like New York and Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
A: What is Italy?
Q: During World War II, over 100,000 people of this ethnic background, most of them U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, were forcibly relocated to internment camps.
A: Who are Japanese Americans?
Q: This 1986 law, passed under President Reagan, granted amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants and aimed to prevent future illegal hiring.
A: What is the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)?
Q: This 1917 act added a literacy test for immigrants and barred immigration from the "Asiatic Barred Zone."
A: What is the Immigration Act of 1917?
Q: This journalist and reformer exposed the harsh living conditions of immigrants in his book How the Other Half Lives.
A: Who is Jacob Riis?
Q: During the Market Revolution (Period 4: 1800–1848), this immigrant group arrived in large numbers due to famine and became a key labor force in northern cities, often facing nativist hostility.
A: Who are the Irish?
Q: This program, created during World War II, allowed Mexican laborers to work temporarily in the U.S., especially in agriculture and railroads.
A: What is the Bracero Program?
Q: This 1990s immigration trend refers to people leaving their countries due to war, persecution, or disaster rather than for economic opportunity.
A: What is refugee or asylum-based immigration?
Q: This 1986 law, signed by President Reagan, granted amnesty to many undocumented immigrants and penalized employers who hired them.
A: What is the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)?
Q: While immigrants tried to preserve their culture, this term describes the process of adopting American customs and language.
A: What is assimilation (or Americanization)?
Q: This immigrant group settled in the Midwest during Antebellum America (Period 4–5), establishing farming communities and contributing to education reform, such as the introduction of kindergartens.
A: Who are the Germans?
Q: Following the Vietnam War, this group of Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees arrived in large numbers, marking a shift in immigration trends during the Cold War.
A: Who are Vietnamese (or Indochinese) refugees?
Q: Debates over immigration in the 2000s often center around this concept, involving secure borders, paths to citizenship, and debates over "dreamers."
A: What is comprehensive immigration reform?