If you were an immigrant and you had the opportunity to leave your war-torn country knowing the hardships that you would experience in America, would you take it? Throughout time, immigrants have come to the United States to escape the problems in their own countries. On their long journey, immigrants have had varying encounters, and have been victims of laws and acts that were created to keep them out, and had others feel a certain way about them.
Immigrants that make their way to America experience a lot of things throughout their journey. The United States currently admits over one million legal permanent residents every year which is the equivalent of annually adding a city the size of Detroit (Federation). About 23.5 million immigrants
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But, China was an ally to America in World War 2, so the Chinese Exclusion Act was lifted(Immigration, 82-83). The Immigration and Nationality Act was modified in 1965, causing the establishment of a preference system that issued visas(Immigration, 83).IRCA(Immigration Reform and Control Act) created a program for the legalization of aliens in 1986(Carrasco). The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 offered amnesty to illegal aliens who had lived in the United States continuously since before January 1 or who had worked at least 90 days at farm labor in the United States between May 1, 1985 and May 1, 1986(Immigration, 83).The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 put into effect stronger penalties against illegal immigration and provided funding for enhanced border enforcement(Carrasco).Immigrants have been victims of laws that were created to keep them away from their freedom, but they have also been the recipients of acts that were created to help them have a fighting chance on their journey to