Immigration is a tough issue to tackle because of all the emotion surrounding it. This conservative blog likes to look at the facts first, so I will use this posting to share some history on immigration policy before I dive into the Arizona bill in my next post. There are endless amounts of immigration bills that have been passed, amended, and repealed over the years. I will try to highlight a few of them as I feel it is important to know where we’ve been before we decide where to go!
The first immigration legislation was the Naturalization Act of 1790, that limited naturalization to “free white persons” of “good moral character” that had lived in the states for two years.
The Immigration Act of 1924 actually put quotas of how many immigrants could be admitted from each country – the number of people admitted was limited to 2% of the people from that country that were already in the United States, according to the 1890 census. Legislation even disallowed admitting certain groups if they were from certain countries, including many Asian countries (there were not restrictions on Latin America).
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 removed racial restrictions but kept quotas based on countries. The Act allowed immigrants involved in subversive activities to be deported and potential immigrants that are suspected of criminal activity to be denied entry. This law was used against many followers of the Communist Party at the time.
The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 removed the country quotas; however, there was still a limit on Western Hemisphere immigration (120,000 per year) and Eastern Hemisphere immigration (170,000). The 1990 Immigration Act expanded the total immigration limit to 700,000 and increased the amount of visas to be issued by 40%.
Despite the continued expansion of immigrants allowed into the country, legislation in 1996 (AEDPA and IIRIRA) imposed harsher penalties on immigrants and green card holders for criminal activities that included deportation and detention. This legislation has been used to deport over 1 million immigrants.
The previous history talked about those who came here legally and tried to gain citizenship. Since 1929, illegal entry into the United States has been a federal crime, with a penalty of up to six months in prison for the first offense and 20 years for the second offense. Further, hiring illegal immigrants carries a maximum penalty under federal statute of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The United States has had a pretty firm stance on limiting the number of immigrants that come into the country for a long time. Further, for over 80 years it has been a federal crime to come into the country illegally, punishable by jail or deportation. I will dive into the Arizona bill in my next post, but I did feel it is important to show that Arizona is not the first governmental body to stand up against illegal immigration.
Strong Conservative Blog 