US Has a Long History of Restricting Immigrants
Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executiveorder banning refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries fromentering the United States.
The countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,Syria and Yemen.
Protesters across the U.S. immediately objected to therestrictions. Some argue that Trump's order discriminates against Muslims anddefies the American tradition of welcoming immigrants.
Many of these protesters correctly point out that theU.S. is a country of immigrants. However, history shows that the U.S. is also acountry of restrictions on immigrants.
Trump's government is not the first administration torestrict immigration, including on the basis of national origin.
Restrictions on Asian immigrants
The U.S. Constitution, which went into effect in 1789,gave Congress “absolute authority” over immigration law, says Linda Monk. Thepresident executes those laws through regulations.
Monk wrote a book about the Constitution called “TheWords We Live By.”
She explains that for about the first 100 years ofAmerican history, Congress did not place any federal limits on immigration.
During those years, Irish and German immigrants came tothe U.S. in large numbers. Many Chinese immigrants did, too. They hoped to findgold in California and then, when they did not, they stayed anyway.
But some members of the American public disapproved ofthese groups. They did not like the Catholic religion that many Irish andGermans immigrants practiced. And they did not like Asian immigrants, whom theyviewed as convicts, prostitutes, or competition for jobs.
So, in the late 1800s, Congress moved for the first timeto limit the number of immigrants. Lawmakers targeted Asians, especiallyChinese. The Page Act and the Chinese Exclusion Act banned most Chinese womenand workers.
Restrictions on other nationalities
By the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. federalgovernment had increased its role in immigration. It established Ellis Islandin New York as the entry point for immigrants. And it oversaw a dramaticincrease in the number of immigrants, especially from Italy and Eastern Europe.Many of the new arrivals were uneducated and had little money.
Once again, some people opposed the number and kind ofimmigrants entering the country. A group called the Immigration RestrictionLeague was formed. They petitioned Congress to require immigrants to show thatthey could at least read.
Both Presidents Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilsonopposed the requirement. But in 1917, Congress approved the measure overWilson's objections. People who wished to settle in the U.S. now had to pass aliteracy test.
In the 1920s, restrictions on immigration increased. TheImmigration Act of 1924 was the most severe: it limited the overall number ofimmigrants and established quotas based on nationality. Among other things, theact sharply reduced immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa. And itcompletely restricted immigrants from Asia, except for Japan and thePhilippines.
At the same time, the historian's page at the StateDepartment notes that the act made more visas available to people from Britainand Western Europe.
“In all of its parts, the most basic purpose of the 1924Immigration Act was to preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity,” the StateDepartment history page concludes.
Major change in U.S. immigration policy
During the 1940s and 50s, the U.S. made some policychanges that increased – however slightly – the number and nationalities ofimmigrants.
Then, in 1965, a major change happened. Under pressure inpart from the civil rights movement, Congress passed the Immigration andNationality Act. President Lyndon Johnson signed it.
The act eliminated the quota system based on nationality.Instead, it prioritized immigrants who already had family members in the U.S.It also sought to offer protection to refugees from areas with violence andconflict.
Even though the act kept some limits in place, theorigins of immigrants changed dramatically. Instead of being from WesternEurope, most immigrants to the U.S. by the end of the 20th century wereoriginally from Mexico, the Philippines, Korea, the Dominican Republic, India,Cuba and Vietnam.
So, what about Trump's order?
A professor at the University of Miami School of Law saysthe 1965 law ended “overt discrimination” in U.S. immigration policy. KunalParker is also the author of a book called “Making Foreigners: Immigration andCitizenship Law in America.”
Parker says that people who are protesting Trump'sexecutive order probably “perceive what is happening as contrary to U.S.tradition since 1965.”
But Parker cautions against seeing Trump's action asillegal. He points out that the Supreme Court has historically permitted thepresident and Congress a good deal of authority to regulate immigration.
And, he notes, President Obama also signed an executiveorder related to immigration. That order aimed to protect the families ofundocumented immigrants with U.S.-born children.
However, Parker says, “Something that is legal might bevery problematic.”
Both Parker and legal scholar Linda Monk also note theConstitution requires both Congress and the president follow certain procedureswhen regulating immigration. Those procedures protect against discrimination.
“The highest law says that these actions have to becarried out fairly,” says Monk.
I'm Anne Ball.
Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English.Hai Do was the editor.
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Words in This Story
executive - adj. an order by the president
origin - n. the point or place where something begins oris created
petition - v. a written document that people sign to showthat they want a person or organization to do or change something
quota - n. an official limit on the number or amount ofpeople or things that are allowed
slightly - adv. n a very small amount or degree
eliminate - v. to get rid of something
overt - adj. obvious
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