U.S. Immigration Policy
The U.S. was open for any immigrant before 1882 and is actually predominantly made up by immigrants. But now, many Americans don’t want more because they believe there are already too many. So over the years, many laws were made, trying to control immigration with restrictions.
There were many reasons why people came to America when it was freely open. People came to America to run away from war, poverty, starvation, and religious persecution. Later, laws were made to limit immigration from specific countries. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, for example, wouldn’t allow any immigration from China for sixty years. There were also laws that allowed only specific individuals with a particular background or heritage to come and live in the U.S.
In 1965 however, the Immigration Act let other countries around the world move in to the U.S. regardless of their nationality. And in 1990, Congress made it so that it was illegal for people to be rejected on account of their beliefs, statements, or relations.
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