The history of immigration law in the United States provides an interesting backdrop from which to analyze this country's views of race and class, which are often reflected in laws concerning immigration. One example of this connection is the laws concerning denial of benefits to undocumented people in the United States. Such laws began taking form when people of color began immigrating to the United States in large numbers from developing nations. During the settlement of the colonies, immigrants arrived freely, limited only by the cost of travel, diseases, and the harsh environment found in the colonies. In the years before the American Revolution, immigrants came to the colonies from England, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, and Portugal. During this period, slaves from Africa were also forcibly brought to this country. The only immigration restrictions at this time were on criminals and public charges. These restrictions illustrated the hostility felt towards newcomers by colonists who had only just arrived themselves. Immigration was, however, still favored to the extent that the colonies needed more people for labor and development. It is important to note that extensive federal legislation dealing with immigration was not enacted for some time. At first it was unclear whether the federal government was given the authority by the Constitution to regulate immigration. Also, unrestricted immigration was still desirable as a means for obtaining labor and achieving growth as a nation. Discontent with an open immigration policy increased with the tremendous rate of immigration and with the change in the composition of immigrants. Between 1820 and 1880, political and economic conditions brought over 2.8 million Irish immigrants to the United States. German Catholic immigrants also came during the 1840s. American society did not accept the Irish Catholics and Germans, and movements to limit immigration began to form. After the Civil War, federal law began to reflect the growing desire to restrict immigration of certain groups. In 1875, Congress passed the first restrictive statute for immigration, barring convicts and prostitutes from admission. The 1875 Act also attempted to deal with the problem of Chinese labor in the West. Imported Chinese labor had been used since 1850, and the tension between the Chinese workers and the settlers of European descent ran high. Congress adopted a law outlawing so-called "coolie- labor" contracts and immigration for lewd and immoral purposes. In 1882, Congress took even stronger action in the Chinese Exclusion Act, the nation's first racist, restrictive immigration law. The Act suspended all immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years and forbade any court to admit Chinese people for citizenship. The Chinese Exclusion Act was finally repealed in 1943. Immigration was now seen as a threat to the United States economy, and Congress began expanding the list of "undesirable classes" hoping to upgrade the quality of immigrants and to limit overall entry.
This article continued at: http://pnews.org/ArT/WaR/Imm.shtml Hank Roth http://pnews.org/
