As we look back at the 20th century we realize that never in the history of mankind have humans migrated so much. Millions of people have left their homes to relocate in other parts of the world in order to change their destiny. People from all over the world have dared to dream of a better future for themselves and for their children.

Others were forced out of their homelands in order to escape atrocities. The two world wars during this century that brought devastation to humankind forced large numbers of people to seek refuge in a distant land in order to survive.

All of these immigrants have shaped America as we know it. They have contributed to society in different ways and have seen themselves in turn molded and shaped by life in America.

Immigration law has also changed and evolved in the past century in an attempt to regulate immigration. It is interesting to see that, while in the first half of the century, immigration policy was that new immigrants should resemble the old ones, in the latter part of our century quotas were specifically created to include a greater diversity of immigrants from under-represented parts of the world.

1907, or the year of The Great Migration, as it is called, brought 27 million immigrants to American shores. During the same year Congress passed a law prohibiting people with physical or mental handicaps from immigrating to the United States. People with TB were also banned, as well as children unaccompanied by adults. The previous year the requirement to speak and understand English was enforced for immigrants seeking naturalization.

In the years 1907-8, the United States and Japan reached a "Gentleman's Agreement," which stipulated that while the United States will not close its borders to Japanese immigrants, Japan will not issue passports to Japanese workers looking for work in the continental United States. Japanese laborers were limited to agricultural work in Hawaii.

In 1917 Congress prohibited immigration from Asia (except for the Philippines and Japan). All other immigrants must pass a literacy test consisting of ability to read at least 40 words in any language.

In 1921 for the first time the national-origins quota system was used. It limited immigration from each European country to 3% of each foreign-born nationality as measured by the 1910 census. Since Northern Europeans formed the largest part of the foreign-born population, these groups were favored.

In 1924 this measure was reinforced by the Johnson-Reed Act, which aimed at preserving the status quo of immigration, according to the 1920 census.

In 1943 a quota of 105 was set for Chinese immigrants, but referred to all persons from the "Chinese race," not only for people coming from China.

1952 was the year in which, for the first time, annual quotas were created for all countries.

In 1965 an annual quota of 20,000 was granted to each country.

1986 - the Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed. It granted amnesty to illegal immigrants, but at the same time sanctioned employers hiring undocumented aliens.

The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the annual limit for immigration to 700,000.

1996 - The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act posed new restrictions on immigration, namely stricter border control, limitations on status adjustment and political asylum seekers. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act stipulated that in order to receive any public benefit, immigrants must be U.S. citizens.

1997 - The Balance Budget Agreement restored some public benefits but only to senior citizens and the handicapped.

The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act gave permanent residence status to immigrants from Nicaragua and other Central American countries seeking political refuge.

In 1998 more public benefits were restored to certain groups of immigrants by the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act and the Noncitizen Benefit Clarification and Other Technical Amendments Act.

The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act provided for larger quotas of skilled workers needed for the booming U.S. economy.
 

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