Immigration Policies

To adapt to the needs and attitudes of American Society, the policies regarding United States immigration have changed over time. The American government alters their society to better appease the citizens who live there. The United States has undergone numerous stages of immigration policies.

When America was becoming powerful, one belief the government had was that all men and women were able to immigrate to our country for a better life. We have many symbols that display our belief of allowing all types of people including the Statue of Liberty which reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" This shows that the government was accepting of all people, not only the wealthy. As shown in document #2, all types of people were being accepted onto the ark. Under the cartoon, there is a statement saying: “Welcome to All”. Due to the great reputation of America as allowing one to start over and find a job, many immigrants came to begin a new life.

In 1882, according to document # 4, the views and beliefs of the country changed. When an influx of Chinese immigrants came to America, the citizens of the country saw the Chinese as endangering their jobs. Many Chinese came to work on the transcontinental. They worked for low wages and did not complain about their poor work standards. To resolve this problem and satisfy the citizens of the country, the government instated the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act prohibited the immigration of Chinese to America for 10 years upon its passing. This drastically decreased the number of immigrants. This, among other quota laws, drastically reduced the number of immigrants to the U.S. especially from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia, according to document #5.

Not until 1965 did the