Immigrants & America 250: Policies Across United States History

Signed into law by President George Washington, this Act defined eligibility for citizenship by naturalization to “free white persons.” This Act created the legal category of “aliens ineligible for citizenship” that limited rights of noncitizens.

Signed into law by President George Washington, this Act while still limited naturalization to “free white persons,” increased the residency requirement for immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship from two to five years. This Act also required individuals to declare their intention to become citizens at least three years before naturalization.

Signed into law by President John Adams, this Act enacted deportation laws targeting persons deemed “political threats” and imposed more demanding requirements for naturalization. This Act was invoked during World War II to justify the detainment of Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants.

Signed into law by President Thomas Jefferson, this Act continued to limit naturalization to “free white persons,” reduced the residency period to become a citizen from 14 years to five years, and maintained the three-year declaration of intention before naturalization.

Under President Thomas Jefferson, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River, doubling the size of the nation. This purchase ignored the impact of Native Americans who resided in the area. Native individuals not only lost their tribal lands, but were forcibly moved to reservations.

Signed into law by President James Monroe, this Act set the standards for cross Atlantic travel that required ships to provide a passenger manifest to U.S. Federal agents upon arriving, being the first records to track national origin.

Signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, this Act authorized the Federal government to take land from Native American tribes and forced thousands of Native Americans to be relocated to lands west of the Mississippi River.

Signed by President James K. Polk, this treaty not only ended the Mexican-American War, but the United States annexed 55% of Mexico’s territory (including California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and present-day New Mexico and Arizona). This treaty also set the Rio Grande river as the border between Texas and Mexico. As a result, residents of the territory were allowed to choose whether they wanted Mexican or U.S. citizenship by leaving or remaining in the newly formed U.S. territory.

Under President Franklin Pierce, the United States purchased land from Mexico, which later became part of Arizona and New Mexico.

The Castle Garden Emigrant Depot, located in Manhattan, New York, opened in 1855 as the first official immigrant processing center in the United States. It provided newly arrived immigrants with registration, health screening, and resources. Over the course of 35 years, more than eight million immigrants who entered the United States passed through the Castle Garden Emigrant Depot.

To address labor shortages due to the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law this Act which legalized employers to contract immigrant workers to come to the United States to work under specified guidelines, where workers were treated similarly to indentured servants.

Passed under President Andrew Johnson, the 14th Amendment secured key rights for immigrants and their families such as birthright citizenship, equal protections, and due process.

Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant, this Act extended naturalization rights to persons of African nativity and/or descent, including formerly enslaved individuals, but not to other non-white groups.

This U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that citizenship did not automatically result in voting rights, shaping the legal landscape for immigrant and native‑born women.

Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant, this Act prohibited the importation of unfree laborers and women brought for “immoral purposes.” This Act was utilized to restrict Asian immigration without doing so based on race.

Although vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes, this bill limited any ship landing in a United States port to having no more than fifteen passengers of Chinese origin.

Signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur, this Act expanded “excludable aliens” to include undesirable persons and attributes such as those who were poor as well as those who were “convicts”, “lunatics”, and those “likely to become a public charge” (LPC).

Signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur, this Act not only suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years, but it also served as a catalyst for passing additional laws over the next twenty years that restricted the flow of immigrants from China as well as increasing the deportation of Chinese immigrants already residing in the United States.

Signed into law by President Grover Cleveland, this Act authorized the President of the United States to allot (separate into individual landholdings) tribal reservation lands. The allotted land was arid and not suitable for farming. Native Americans could accept allotments in exchange for (delayed) citizenship rights.

Signed into law by President Grover Cleveland, this Act abolished the “returning laborers” status of nearly 20,000 Chinese workers holding Certificates of Return. As a result, Chinese workers with Certificates of Return were not allowed to enter the United States.

Signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison this Act centralized immigration enforcement authority to the federal government, created the Office of Superintendent of Immigration, placed further regulations on contract labor, and expanded the list of excludable/deportable immigrants to include felons, polygamists, “all idiots, insane persons, paupers or persons likely to become a public charge”, and those suffering from infectious diseases.

Due to the failure to enforce immigration laws by the Customs Bureau, Congress authorized and funded a dedicated immigration bureau, initially housed in the Department of the Treasury but later moved to the Department of Commerce and Labor.

Ellis Island opened in 1892 and served as the primary federal immigration station in the United States. Arriving immigrants underwent extensive medical and legal inspections. Over the course of 62 years, approximately 12 million immigrants, mostly immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, were processed at Ellis Island.

Signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison, this Act renewed Chinese exclusion laws for an additional ten years and added provisions and clarifications to the Federal government’s power to enforce immigration laws. This Act also required individuals who were Chinese and living in the United States to carry a Certificate of Residence to prove legal status or risk detention and/or deportation.

This U.S. Supreme Court case established the precedent of birthright citizenship, such that any person born in the United States, regardless of race or immigration status of their parents, was a citizen by birth as granted by the 14th Amendment.

Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, this Act targeted anarchists for exclusion. As a result, codified restrictions against people deemed likely to become public charges were implemented as well as leveling fees on arrival, and strengthening the government’s power to pursue, detain, and deport anarchists in the United States.

Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, this Act provided uniform rules and documents for naturalization, as well as requiring all applicants be able to speak English. This Act also led to the creation of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.

Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, this Act stripped U.S. citizenship of any U.S.-born woman who married a non-citizen immigrant man, assuming that the women would adopt their spouse's citizenship.

Known as the “Ellis Island of the West”, Angel Island opened in San Francisco Bay in 1910, acting as a major point of entry for immigrants from Asia. However, due to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Acts, Asian immigrants were often detained in Angel Island for days, months, or years.

Congress authorized the high-level commission in 1907 to research and provide cause to “scientifically” demonstrate that Eastern and Southern Europeans “degraded the quality of U.S. society and civilization.” The 41-volume report was issued in 1911 and recommended literacy tests to reduce immigrant numbers.

Although initially vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, this Act created a “barred zone” extending from the Middle East to Southeast Asia that barred all persons coming from affected regions from entering the United States. This Act also implemented literacy tests intended to reduce European immigration (with exemptions for refugees), as well as clarified funding and procedures to aid enforcement of immigration laws and expand the excludable classes of immigrants.

Signed into law by President Warren G. Harding, this Act imposed “emergency” quotas based on immigrants’ countries of birth (calculated as three percent of the total number of foreign-born persons from that country in the 1910 census), reducing immigration severely.

Signed into law by President Warren G. Harding, this Act restored citizenship to U.S.-born women who had married non-citizens and lost citizenship under the Expatriation Act of 1907. This Act did not extend to women who married “aliens ineligible for citizenship,” which at the time included Asian immigrant men.

Signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge, this Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. Although recognizing Native Americans as U.S. citizens, this Act did not guarantee voting rights.

Signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge, this Act enacted a permanent quota system based on the 1921 Emergency Quota Act, setting quotas at two percent of populations counted in the 1890 census and barring all “aliens ineligible for citizenship”. Immigration numbers drastically declined, especially from targeted areas of Eastern and Southern Europe, including many refugees fleeing the spread of fascism.

Due to the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, U.S. Border Patrol launched multiple campaigns aimed at detaining Mexicans, including U.S.-born citizens, and deporting them to Mexico.

Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization merged together and renamed into the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, this Act not only established a ten-year plan for the Philippines to gain independence from the United States, but it imposed an immigration quota of only allowing 50 Filipino immigrants to enter the United States each year.

Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, this Act granted U.S. citizenship to World War I veterans regardless of race.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred the Immigration and Naturalization Service from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice, under the idea that “more effective control over aliens” would fall under the nation’s security during World War II.

Due to a labor shortage during World War II, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States negotiated the Bracero Program with the Mexican government to recruit male Mexican workers to work in the United States on short-term contracts in U.S. agriculture and war industries. Workers experienced harsh conditions which resulted in many Mexican immigrant workers seeking “illegal” work outside of the program. The Bracero Program lasted for 22 years, ending in 1964.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that authorized the incarceration of Japanese Americans living within 100 miles of the West Coast. Approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were placed in “internment” camps under the guise of “military necessity”.

Due to China being a key ally against Japan during World War II, Congress repealed the Chinese Exclusion laws, allowing some Chinese immigrants to become the first Asians eligible to naturalize and gain citizenship. However, this Act, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, maintained strict limits and implemented a quota, allowing only 105 Chinese immigrants to immigrate to the United States each year.

Signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, this Act extended naturalization rights and immigration quotas to U.S. allies in Asia, namely the Philippines and India. This Act established a quota allowing 100 Filipinos and 100 East Indians to immigrate to the United States each year.

Due to widespread displacement as a result of World War II, President Harry S. Truman authorized admissions for European refugees. Over the course of four years, this Act led to the admission of over 400,000 displaced Europeans.

Although President Harry S. Truman vetoed this Act, Congress overrode his veto. This Act reformed immigration laws by removing racial restrictions on citizenship by naturalization, maintained the national origins quota system that favored immigrants who resided in Northern and Western Europe, and expanded immigration enforcement and deportation.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, the H-2, nonimmigrant visa category was formed which allowed U.S. employers to recruit foreign farmworkers. This visa category heavily favored guest workers from the Caribbean who worked on farms along the east coast. Many workers faced poor living and working conditions as well as wage theft.

Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, this Act provided approximately 214,000 visas to European refugees fleeing Communism and 5,000 visas for refugees from East Asia. However, to obtain a visa, refugees had to take several steps including pre-arrange a sponsor as well as employment, pay for their travel, and verify their political history.

Signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, this Act allowed nearly 20,000 refugees who were fleeing from Communist countries to enter the United States. This Act was passed in response to the large number of Cuban refugees fleeing after the 1959 Revolution.

Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, this Act abolished the previous national origin quota systems of the 1920s with a visa preference system that focused on immigrant’s skills and family relationships with U.S. citizens and/or residents. This Act established an annual cap of allowing 20,000 immigrants to come to the United States for all countries, placing numerical limits on Western hemisphere countries for the first time. At the same time, the passage of this Act also increased the opportunity for individuals to migrate to the United States from Asia, Central America and Mexico, Africa, the Middle East, and other parts of Europe.

Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, this Act provided work authorization and allowed Cubans (both native or citizens) who lived in the United States for at least two years to apply for their green card (become lawful permanent residents).

Signed into law by President Gerald Ford, this Act admitted and resettled approximately 135,000 Vietnamese and other Southeast Asians who were displaced due to the impact of the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon.

Signed into law by President Gerald Ford, this Act amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which resulted in increasing the number of new arrivals from 20,000 to 120,000 for immigrants living in North and South America and up to 170,000 for immigrants living in Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 1978, the Act was amended to cap the yearly worldwide new arrivals to 290,000. This amendment sought to implement a preference system that would be applied to all countries equally, however this Act resulted in capping legal migration from certain countries, particularly Mexico.

Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, this Act raised the annual ceiling for the number of refugees admitted to the United States to 50,000, established a new definition as to who is a refugee, and created the federal Refugee Resettlement Program.

Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, this Act provided amnesty for established residents, granting legal permanent status to 2.7 million residents. Additionally, this Act imposed further restrictions and regulations to improve immigration enforcement, greater requirements for employers to check work authorization of immigrant workers, and split the H-2 visa program into the H-2A agricultural worker program and H-2B nonagricultural worker program.

Signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, this Act raised the ceiling to 700,000 on regular immigration, introduced the Diversity Visa lottery, implemented the H-1B skilled worker visa program, and provided Temporary Protected Status (TPS) so that asylum seekers could remain in the United States until conditions in their home country improved.

Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, this Act strengthened border enforcement, imposed criminal penalties around immigration related offenses, increased deportation among undocumented immigrants who committed a misdemeanor or a felony, and increased requirements for applications among asylum seekers.

Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, this Act strengthened border enforcement, imposed criminal penalties around immigration related offenses, increased deportation among undocumented immigrants who committed a misdemeanor or a felony, and increased requirements for applications among asylum seekers.

Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, this Act was enacted to “deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, provide for an effective death penalty.” This Act also increased penalties for crimes involving explosives or terrorism, as well as providing restitution to victims, and gave federal government more power to deny visas and deport legal residents linked to terrorist organizations.

Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, this Act allowed certain Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans who had fled violence and poverty to file for asylum and remain in the United States. This Act also allowed for the suspension/cancellation of removal of nationals from Central America and former Soviet-Bloc countries, along with their spouses and children.

Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, this Act provided Haitian nationals who were living in the United States since December 31, 1995 a pathway to lawful permanent residency.

Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush signed this Act into law that increased law enforcement and federal agents use of surveillance tools and allowed the government to access to individual’s records including communications, financial records, and other personal information.

This Supreme Court case ruling provided civil rights protections for persons denied asylum. In this ruling, immigration authorities cannot detain noncitizens indefinitely if no deportation destination can be arranged.

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, this Act established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), dismantling the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and transferred its function to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, this Act amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to protect child applicants who turn 21 before receiving green card, allowing them to retain the classification of a “child” for visa purposes.

Developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, this web-based system was implemented for schools, sponsors, and government agencies to use to track and monitor international students and exchange visitors studying in the United States.

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, this Act not only enhanced border security, but established the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and created the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB).

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, this Act established security standards for licenses and identification and prohibited federal agencies from accepting noncompliant identification. Additionally, this Act increased the burden of proof for asylum seekers, expanded grounds for inadmissibility and deportation, and increased visa limits and renewals.

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, this Act aimed to enhance border security, mandated the construction of physical barriers and enhanced surveillance along the U.S.–Mexico border.

Proposed under President George W. Bush, this legislation aimed to permanently protect immigrants who came to the United States as children (before their 16th birthday) from deportation and provide a pathway to legal status. It would allow eligible individuals to obtain conditional residency if they have proof of arrival and residency for at least five years, completed high school or higher education or military service, or was admitted to an institution of higher education, as well as other conditions.

Under President George W. Bush, this Department of Homeland Security program aimed to identify and deport non-citizens who have a criminal record. This program enabled local law enforcement agencies to share data with federal immigration authorities.

This Supreme Court case which occurred during Barack Obama’s presidency, challenged the Arizona law SB1070, ruling that immigration is exclusive to federal control but allowed Section 2(B) (known as the “papers, please” measure) allowing law enforcement officers to check immigration status during stops if there is “reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present.”

Implemented during Barack Obama’s presidency, this policy established deportation protections and work authorization for young, unauthorized immigrants (DREAMers) with no criminal record, that arrived before age 16 and who were not older than 30 years old when DACA was introduced. If accepted, individuals are granted a two-year renewable permit to work and study, but it does not provide a pathway to legal/citizenship status.

This executive order was issued by President Barack Obama that sought to defer deportation and provide protections for unauthorized immigrants whose children were either American citizens or lawful permanent residents. This order was challenged in court and never enacted and formally rescinded by the Trump administration in 2017.

Signed into law by President Barack Obama, this Act increased the number of Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) to 1,000 for Afghan nationals who assisted the U.S. government and military.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2017 not only restricting the admission of citizens from predominantly Muslim countries (e.g., Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen), but suspended the resettlement of all Syrian refugees.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration invoked Title 42, to restrict entry of individuals entering the United States if they believe there is a “serious danger of the introduction of [a communicable] disease...” This policy was also utilized to expel individuals at the U.S,-Mexico border without opportunity for asylum.

In 2022, under President Joe Biden, the Uniting for Ukraine Humanitarian Parole program was implemented to allow Ukrainians with a U.S. -based sponsor to enter temporarily, under humanitarian parole, allowing them to live, work, and study legally for up to two years.

Under President Joe Biden, Title 42 was revoked due to the expiration of the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration.

Under President Joe Biden, this program, which was launched by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), permitted the processing for fast removal with strict surveillance conditions without detention for families seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border.

Signed into law by President Donald Trump, this Act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain before removal proceedings, non-US citizens who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, murder or other serious crimes. This Act also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June 2025 restricting the admission of citizens from 19 countries, including full restrictions on Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen and partial restrictions on Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

President Donald Trump signed an executive in December 2025 implementing full and partial restrictions for the admission of citizens in up to 39 counties. This ban also preventing entry for individuals with Palestinian-Authority-travel documents.