Immigration Issues

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Chapter 4

• Immigration Issues

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Living Legacy of Immigration

• According to your text, the diversity of racial
  and ethnic backgrounds in America today is the
  result of immigration.
• Except for descendents of Native Americans and
  African Slaves, our population results from
  people who chose to come here from some other
  place.

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Why do peopleimmigrate?

• Economic reasons
• Political reasons
• Religious reasons
• Unite with family members who have preceded them
  in immigration
• Availability of transportation
• Unrestricted or de-regulated emigration

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Early Immigration

• Exploration, conquest, settlement
• Colonization was encouraged
• Early on, immigration was unregulated and
  naturalization was easily accomplished
• 23 elected to stay after immigrating

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Todays Foreign-Born Population

• Today approximately 32.5 million foreign born
  people are from Latin America
• Central America
• Mexico
• Europeans account for less than 6 foreign born
  today

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Early Immigration

• In 1790 English immigrants were the dominant
  group, numerically 60 of the population,
  socially and politically.
• For most of the 1800s immigration was encouraged
  and unrestricted. (Growing demand for labor )
• Five years for naturalization

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• Restrictive legislation emerged in the latter
  part of the nineteenth century.

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The Anti-Catholic Crusade

• Reaction and the anti-immigration movement
• Restrictionist movements centered in part on
  Xenophobia - fear and hatred of outsiders

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• Xenophobia lead to the emergence of nativism
  movements and policies
• Nativism beliefs and policies favoring
  native-born citizens over immigrants
• Range of rejection editorial words to violence
• One immigrant population often opposed another

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Anti-Catholic Movement and Irish Immigration

• Push and pull factors behind Irish immigration
• Economic deprivation and the potato famine of
  1845-1848 and the prospect of new economic
  opportunities.

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• Anti-Catholic attitudes were brought to the U.S.
  by early Protestant immigrants
• The role of Samuel Morse
• Inventor of the telegraph

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Anti-Chinese Movement

• For the most part Chinese immigration began in
  the 1850s
• Function of a combination of push and pull
  factors
• Poverty and over population in China
• West and economic opportunities
• Sojourn with the intent of returning to China

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Anti-Chinese Movement

• Chinese immigrants played a vital role in the
  development of the economy in the West
• Worked in the mines
• Agriculture
• Railroad

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Anti-Chinese Movement

• Sinophobia - fear and hatred of the Chinese
• Bearers of disease
• Competition for jobs and the rise of Sinophobia
• Used by employers as strike breakers

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Anti-Chinese Movement

• Chinese exclusion act of 1882 and its expansion
  until around WWII
• Chinese exclusion act and its impact on
  immigration and the Chinese community
• Decline in legal immigration
• Dramatically effected the structure of the
  Chinese community and family

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Restrictionist Sentiment Increases

• The extension of restrictions from the the
  anti-Asian movement to European nationalities
• 1908 The Gentlemans Agreement was signed
• Dillingham commission report of 1911
• Two types of immigrants old and new
• New immigrants were seen as a threat to democracy
  and the American way of life

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Restrictionist Sentiment Increases

• Immigration bill and the literacy test of 1917
  (Passed over the veto of President Wilson)
• National Origins system 1920-1921 established
  quotas based on the percent of each (Nationality)
  ethnic group from the 1910 census

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• Favored immigrants from Northern Europe
• Immigration from Western Hemisphere remained
  unrestricted

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Weblink

• To experience some of what your ancestors and
  others experienced read their stories
• http//library.thinkquest.org/20619/index.html

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The National Origin System

• The National Origin System
• Favored Northern and Western European immigrants
  over Southern and Eastern European immigrants
• Quotas went unfilled and immigration dropped
• Backlog in other countries
• Shaped the ethnic landscape of America

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Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

• Purpose of the act was to reunite families and
  tied immigration to the needs of the economy

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• Rules for naturalization
• 18 years of age
• resident for five years
• good moral character
• ability to read and write
• pass a test in U.S. government and history

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Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

• In 2001 and 2002, 1,060,000 were admitted for the
  following reasons
• Family unification
• Spouses
• Relatives of citizens and legal residents
• Employment based
• Refugees

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Contemporary Concerns

• Brain drain - the immigration of human capital
  from developing countries to the United States
• H-1B visas- work permits to highly skilled
  immigrants
• Economic and social cost on developing countries

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Contemporary Concerns

• Population growth-immigration will add to the
  growing population of the United States
• Illegal immigration
• Immigration and Reform Act of 1986
• Economic impact and the restriction of government
  benefits

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Immigration Benefits and Concerns

• Potential Benefits
• Needed skills are provided
• They become taxpayers
• They may be equipped to start new businesses
• Diplomatic ties around world
• Areas of concern
• Home country loses expertise
• Dollars flow out of US economy
• Population growth
• Diplomatic/Political issues become more complex
• Illegal immigration
• Table 4.2 page 102

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The Global Economy and Immigration

• Globalization and the emergence of
  transnationals
• Refugees fleeing political persecution and
  death
• Controversy over determining refugee status
• Economic
• Political
• Asylum movement and program

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Economic Issues

• Local impact or national scale?
• Social Science studies debunk stereotypes
• Migradollars remitting money earned in US to
  family members and friends in home country
• Proposition 187

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Refugees

• People living outside their home country for fear
  of political or religious persecution
• What constitutes a valid reason to flea home
  country?
• Is poverty a sufficient reason?
• Repatriation issues

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More Links

• What is the state of affairs for children?
  http//www.unhcr.ch/children/glance.html
• Go to the UNHCR site and scroll to the bottom of
  the page and explore the Nansen Award and its
  recipients
• http//www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

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Exit Exercise

• http//news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/w
  orld/2001/road_to_refuge/default.stm
• Go to the BBC site given above and view one of
  the slide shows Refugee Portraits or picture
  galleries Life in a Camp, go to one of the
  clickable guiedes and read some of the stories
  such as Behind Bars or Return to Berlin or a
  Refugee Story Torn Apart.