Immigration And Naturalization Service Essay

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was born in 1864 to encourage immigration by the request of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln wanted to help address the labor shortage from the Civil War. The INS disappeared a few years later because of lacking power (Alden, 2008). The public began to question the current procedure and consequently some states started passing their own immigration laws, after the Civil War. These changes prompted the Supreme Court to rule immigration as a federal responsibility (U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service).

The Immigration Act of 1891 was passed because economic conditions were deteriorating with the abundance of cheap labor increasing. An Office of the Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury Department was established within The Immigration Act of 1891. Immigration inspectors were stationed at major American ports to collect manifests of arriving passengers. This office was also responsible for processing all immigrants by admitting or rejecting their applications. In 1892 Ellis

Some laws, such as the Nationality Act of 1952 was changed and amended so many times it conflicted with itself. In 1921 and 1924 a quota was assigned to each nationality, limiting the numbers of newcomers. This led to illegal entries and alien smuggling and therefore the Border Patrol was created by Congress. In 1940 President Roosevelt moved the INS from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice (U.S. INS). The Smith Act or Alien Registration Act of 1940 was passed and required registration and fingerprinting of all foreigners entering the United States. Congress demanded the INS quicken entry for tourists and travelers, while airports cleared travelers through inspections in less time. Even though Universities and businesses wanted foreign students and workers, the public was pressuring suppression on illegal immigrants (Alden,