Events occurring in the early 1600’s would rescript American history immensely as approximately 100 Europeans migrated across the ocean to this land. Albeit a costly venture, countless pilgrims’ yearning for religious freedoms left them conjuring ways to escape the oppression set forth. While others, mainly convicted criminals, forced out and shipped over as servants. This, the beginning of immigration in America.
By the 1800’s, millions of impoverished Irish, Germans and Asians fled to North America in search of gold in California as well as land purchases for farming. In due time, the Anglo-Saxons noticed the influx of lower-wage workers and grew threatened and as a result, formed a new party known as the “know-Nothings” in order to encourage
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Ultimately, requiring a definitive description of legal immigration vs. illegal immigration. To add, the Immigration Act in 1917 not only rejected entry of “idiots and imbeciles”, but also required that incoming immigrants pass a literacy test. Progression of immigration reform in 1921 limited the number of immigrants allowed into the U.S. Then again, in 1924, the National Origins Act set forth regional restrictions, excluding entry by southern and eastern Europeans as well as Asian immigrants. Throughout the 40’s, adjusted immigration laws implemented allowances for World War II military spouses of foreign origin entry. For the purpose of upping government reach for controlling seditious groups or individuals depicted as undesirable, the McCarran-Walter Act in 1952 was birthed. This legislation removed Asian immigrant exclusions, allowed entry for skilled workers and family members of existing citizens and markedly affected Mexican immigration. On another hand, troubled with concerns over communist competition, Congress revised its stance on immigration through the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act with a more open