U.S. Immigration Timeline

First U.S. immigration law — limits citizenship to "free white persons" of "good moral character" who have lived in the U.S. for two years.

Congress bans the importation of enslaved people, as allowed by the Constitution after 20 years.

Mexico cedes half its territory. ~80,000 Mexicans become U.S. residents overnight.

Offers free land to settlers, drawing millions of European immigrants westward.

First restrictive immigration law — bans "undesirable" immigrants including forced laborers and women suspected of prostitution from Asia.

First law to ban immigration by nationality. Bars Chinese laborers for 10 years (renewed until 1943).

New York immigration station processes 12 million immigrants over 62 years.

1.3 million immigrants arrive in a single year — a record that stands for decades.

Creates "Asiatic Barred Zone" banning immigration from most of Asia. Adds literacy test requirement.

First numerical limits on immigration. Caps arrivals at 3% of each nationality present in 1910 census.

Tightens quotas to 2% based on 1890 census — explicitly designed to favor Northern Europeans over Southern/Eastern Europeans.

U.S.-Mexico agreement brings millions of temporary agricultural workers to the U.S. (runs until 1964).

Magnuson Act repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act, but sets a tiny quota of 105 Chinese immigrants per year.

First refugee legislation. Admits 400,000 Europeans displaced by WWII.

McCarran-Walter Act consolidates immigration law. Maintains national origins quotas but eliminates race as a bar to naturalization.

Mass deportation campaign removes over 1 million Mexican nationals and Mexican-Americans. Widely criticized for civil rights violations.

Abolishes national origins quota system. Creates family- and employment-based preference system still used today. Transforms U.S. immigration from European to global.

130,000 Vietnamese refugees resettled in the U.S. as the Vietnam War ends.

Creates formal refugee resettlement program. Defines "refugee" based on UN standards.

Immigration Reform and Control Act grants amnesty to 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants. Also criminalizes hiring undocumented workers.

Increases legal immigration by 40%. Creates Diversity Visa lottery (55,000/year) and TPS.

Massive border enforcement buildup at San Diego. Pushes illegal crossings to more dangerous desert routes.

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Creates 3/10-year bars for unlawful presence, expedited removal, and mandatory detention.

Immigration policy shifts to national security focus. INS abolished in 2003, replaced by DHS agencies (CBP, ICE, USCIS).

Homeland Security Act creates the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration enforcement moves from DOJ to DHS.

Executive action creates Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, protecting ~800,000 "Dreamers" from deportation.

Executive order bans travel from several Muslim-majority countries. Family separation policy begins at the southern border.

"Zero tolerance" policy separates thousands of children from parents at the border. Policy reversed after public outcry.

COVID-era public health order enables rapid expulsion of migrants without asylum processing. Used 2.8 million times.

Encounters surge past 1.7 million. Backlog passes 1.5 million cases.

FY2023 sets all-time record for border encounters. Title 42 ends in May 2023.

Biden limits asylum at the border when encounters exceed thresholds. Crossings decline sharply.

New administration launches aggressive interior enforcement. ICE removals surge to 320K in FY2025. Refugee program halted.