StudentReading
Coming toAmerica
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathefree,The wretched refuse of your teemingshore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,Iliftmylampbesidethegoldendoor!”
Thepoet,EmmaLazarus,wrotethesewordsin1883.TheywerelateraddedtothepedestaloftheStatueofLiberty, a landmark greeting millions of immigrants from Europe who landed at Ellis Island in New York Harbor from 1892 to 1954. The statue and these words have long symbolized that which is unique aboutAmerican society — it is a nation of immigrants, a “melting pot” of people who have come here fromaroundthe globe in search of a better life.
ThepoemmaysuggestthatAmericanshavehistoricallywelcomednewimmigrants,especiallythepoor,withopenarms.Intruth,wehavestruggledcontinuouslyasasocietytoembracenewgroupsofforeigners,andthedebatesonhowwavesofimmigrantsshapeourcultureandeconomy(forbetterorworse)havebeenwagedsinceourearlydaysasanation.BelowisabrieftimelineofimmigrationtrendsandpolicyintheUnitedStates.
TheEarlyYearsofOurNation
ThefoundinggenerationsoftheUnitedStatestracetheirrootsprimarilytotheBritishIslesandotherareasof northwestern Europe. Wars in Europe and America slow immigration during the late 1700’s and early1800’s.NewcomersincludeIrishfleeingEnglishruleandFrenchescapingrevolution.TheConstitutionsayslittleaboutimmigrationandcitizenshipotherthantomaketheseissuestheresponsibilityoftheCongress.Before1820,theUnitedStatesdoesnotevenbothertocounthowmanynewcomersreachitsshoresbyship.Congress outlaws the importation of slaves in 1808. By this time, about 600,000 black Africans have beenbrought to the country against theirwill.
1840’s
AsurgingpopulationinEuropeandapotatoblight(andresultingfamine)inIrelandfuelimmigrationtothe UnitedStates.TheU.S.expansioninbothsizeandindustrializationinthe1800’screatesjobsfornewimmigrants in factories, farming, shipping and railroad building.
TheIrishandGermansarethefirstRomanCatholicstoarriveinlargenumbersinwhatisapredominantly Protestantnation,andtheyaremetwithagooddealofdiscriminationfortheirbeliefsandlifestyles.Thefirst organizedoppositiontoopenimmigrationemergesinthe1840’swiththecreationoftheAmericanParty(also knownasthe“Know Nothing Party”due to thesecretivenessofitsmembers). TheyclaimthatIrishandGerman immigrantsthreatentocorruptthecountry’sheritage,andtheysucceedinfomentinganti-immigrationsentimentforthenextseveraldecades.
1880–1920
LargewavesofimmigrantsarrivefromsouthernandeasternEurope,fillingtheneedforunskilledlaborintheindustrializedcitiesoftheNortheastandMidwest.By1900,80percentofNewYorkersareeitherbornabroador the children ofimmigrants.
Anti-immigrationforcesinCongressintroducebillstomakeliteracyarequirementforentrytotheU.S.asameanstoreduceimmigrationfrompoorercountries.Suchbillsareopposedbybusinessleadersseekingcheap
immigrantlaborandaresuccessfullyvetoedbypresidentsfrom1895-1915.In1917,Congressisabletooverride PresidentWilson’svetoontheliteracytestlegislationamidstthenationalisticspiritatthestartofWorldWarI.
1921-1964
In1921,Congresspassesanotherrestrictivelaw,creatingimmigrationquotasonthebasisofnationalorigin. ThisservesasthebasisoftheNationalOriginsActof1924,whichlimitstheannualimmigrationquotaofeachEuropeannationalityto2percentofitsproportionoftheU.S.populationin1890.Thissharplyreducesimmigration from southern and eastern Europe and closes the door to immigration from Asia until the 1952ImmigrationandNationalityActslightlyrelaxessomeoftheserestrictions.Withsuchastrictquotasystem,immigrationlevelsintheU.S.plummet.Inthe1930s,thenumberofpeopleemigratingfromtheUnitedStates actually exceeds the number of immigrants coming into thecountry.
Following World War II, Congress passes the Displaced Persons Act allowing admission of over 400,000 refugees from Europe, especially those escaping the new Soviet communism in Eastern Europe. During the1950’sand1960’s,anumberofspecialbillsarepassedtoaccommodatesuch“escapees”fromcommunistdomination,thelargestgroupcomingfromCuba(700,000)afterFidelCastro’srevolutiontherein1959.
1965-1980
Thecivilrightsmovementofthe1960’sforceslawmakerstoreexaminethenationaloriginsquotasystemthathasbeeninplaceformorethan40years.TheImmigrationandNationalityActof1965isanimportantturningpointinournation’simmigrationpolicy.Itreplacestheoldquotasystemwithasetofsevenpreferencecategories,placingpriorityonreunitingfamiliesandattractinghighlyskilledprofessionals.ThisushersinanunprecedentedwaveofimmigrationfromAsia,especiallyofuniversity-trainedspecialistsinscienceandmedicine.Inthe1970’s,thelawscapannualimmigrationto290,000,notcountingtheimmediaterelativesofU.S.citizens.Nomorethan20,000immigrantsfromanysinglecountrycanenterthecountrylegally.Despitethestrict regulations, many more immigrants enter the country outside of the normal routes.
1980’s–1990’s
In1986,CongressattemptstotackletheissueofillegalimmigrationwithpassageoftheImmigrationReformandControlAct,whichpenalizesemployerswhoknowinglyhireundocumentedworkers.Italsograntsamnestyto3.2millionillegalimmigrants,allowingthemtobecomeU.S.citizens.TheImmigrationActof1990raisesthelimitonannualimmigrationfrom290,000to675,000.Underthelaw,71percentofvisasgotofamilymembersofU.S.citizensandpermanentlegalresidents.Therestaresetasideforwell-trainedworkersandtheirfamiliesandforimmigrantsfromcountriesthathavereceivedrelativelyfewvisasinrecentyears.
The PresentDebate
Althoughnewerlawsareintendedtostreamlinetheimmigrationprocess,thesystemisslowandoverbur-dened.Today,thebacklogofvisaapplicationsfromfamilymembersofU.S.citizensandlegalresidentstotalsabout3.6million.ImmigrantsaredrawntotheUnitedStatesinrecordnumbers.Althoughannuallegallimitsremainat675,000immigrants,theU.S.governmentestimatesthatabout350,000additionalimmigrantsset-tlepermanentlyintheUnitedStateseachyear.Theseincludestudentsandvisitorswhooverstaytheirvisas,aswellasmigrantswhohavecrossedthebordersintotheU.S.illegally.
Asinotherpointsthroughoutourhistory,oursocietyisengagedinadebateaboutwhatU.S.immigrationpolicy should be. Some considerations include whether current immigration levels strengthen or erode oureconomicvitality;howweshoulddealwithhighlevelsofillegalimmigrationfromLatinAmerica;and whether the overall population increase from newcomers places an undue burden on our natural resourcesandenvironmentalhealth.AsignificantportionofU.S.populationgrowthisduetolegalandillegalimmigration.Asourpopulationpassesthe300millionmark,lawmakersareattemptingtocraftthelatestchapterofU.S. immigrationpolicy.
Name
Date
StudentWorksheet
A Nation ofImmigrants
My Option5
ThefourpolicyoptionsoutlinedintheStudentReading,“U.S.PolicyOptions:WhatShouldWeDo?”presentarangeofpossiblepolicydirectionsandtheconsequencesofeach.Eachofthefouroptionsisputinstarktermstohighlightverydifferent approaches. Link to the article can be found here:
Ranking theoptions
Whichoftheoptionsdoyouprefer?Ranktheoptions,with“1”beingthebestoptionfortheUnitedStatestofollow:
Option1:OpenOurselvestotheWorld
Option 2: Make Emigration Unnecessary
Option3:AdmittheTalentWeNeed
Option 4: RestrictImmigration
Option5
Mostlikely,youaredrawntoaspectsofmorethanoneoption,andnoneentirelyexpressesyourviews.Nowisyourchancetocreateanoptionthatreflectsyourownbeliefsandopinions.Youmayborrowheavilyfromone option,oryoumaycombineideasfromtwoorthreeoptions.Or,youmaytakeanewapproachaltogether. Thereare,ofcourse,noperfectsolutions.Andthereisnorightorwronganswer.Rather,youshouldstriveto craftanoptionthatislogicalandpersuasive.Becarefulofcontradictions.Forexample,youshouldnotsharply reduceimmigrationifyoubelievethatculturaldiversityandfreshideasareessentialtoourcountry’sstrength.
Indevelopingyour“Option5,”youshouldanswerthefollowingquestions:
Howmanylegalimmigrants,includingrefugees,shouldtheUnitedStatesadmittothecountryeveryyear?Explainthebasisofyourdecision.
Howshouldlawmakersdecidewhichapplicantsforimmigrationareadmittedinto the country?
HowshouldtheUnitedStatesdealwiththeissueofillegalimmigration?
WhatimageoftheUnitedStatesdoesyouroptionprojecttotherestoftheworld?What are the two strongest arguments opposing youroption?
What are the two strongest arguments supporting youroption?
What are the two strongest arguments AGAINST youroption?
Name
Date
Student Worksheet, page2 A Nation ofImmigrantsMy Option5
Now,imaginethattheyearis2050.Howwillyouroptionhaveinfluencedthefollowingtopics?
1.Theeconomy:
2.Population and theenvironment:
3.Foreignpolicy:
4.Bordercontrol:
5.Social servicecosts:
6.Ethnicrelations:
7.Stability in Mexico and CentralAmerica: