List of United States Immigration Acts
There have been a number of Immigration Acts in the United States.
- The Immigration Act of 1924 aimed at restricting Southern and Eastern European immigration.
- The National Origins Formula was established in 1929. Total annual immigration was capped at 150,000. Asians were excluded but residents of nations in the Americas were not restricted.
- The Immigration and Naturalization Act (or McCarran-Walter Act) of 1952 somewhat liberalized immigration from Asia, but increased the power of the government to deport aliens suspected of Communist sympathies.
- The Immigration Act of 1965 discontinued quotas based on national origin, while preference given to those who have U.S. relatives.
- The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty to aliens who had been in the United States before 1982 but made it a crime to hire an illegal alien.
Related Legislation
There have been many other laws that have also affected immigration:
- 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act
- Gentlemen's Agreement
- 1921 - Emergency Quota Act
- 1945 - Charter ratified United Nations
- 1952 - Immigration and Nationality Act PL 82-414
- 1953 - Refugee Relief Act PL 83-203
- 1962 - Migration and Refugee Assistance Act PL 87-872
- 1965 - Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments PL 89-236
- 1974 - Trade Act PL 93-618
- 1986 - Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act PL 99-440
- 1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act PL 99-603
- 1990 - Immigration Act of 1990 PL 101-649
- 1992 - S. Con. Res. 132/H. Con. Res. 352 Somalia peacekeeping force
- 1999 - Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (Kosovo operations) PL 106-31