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 Nationality 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.
- The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 vastly expanded the categories of criminal activity for which both documented and undocumented immigrants can be deported.
Related Legislation
There have been many other laws that have also affected immigration and naturalization:
See Also
