1565 The Spanish establish the settlement of Saint Augustine in present-day Florida, the oldest known settlement in North America 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sends ships to explore part of the east coast of America and establishes what he called "ia", named after the "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth, as a British claim 1587 A British trading company founds an ill-fated colony of immigrants on Roanoke Island off the coast of Carolina. All inhabitants of the colony disappear without a trace 1598 The Spanish establish the colony of New Mexico in present-day southwestern U.S. 1604 The French establish Acadia in present-day Canada 1607 Virginia Company establishes Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement 1608 The French found Quebec in present-day Canada 1619 Africans are forcibly brought as indentured servants to tobacco planters in Jamestown and the Virginia Co. sends over a shipload of maidens to tie the settlers minds down to Virginia with wives and children 1620 Immigration to New England begins with the migration of Pilgrims who establish Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts 1623 Dutch settlers begin the colony of New Netherlands as an outpost of the Dutch West India Company in present-day New York (1624?) 1626 The Dutch found the colony of New Amsterdam in what is now New York City 1629 A large amount of English Puritans with a charter and a mission to set up a Puritan commonwealth establish a settlement on the Massachusetts Bay. Nearly 20,000 English immigrants arrive within the next decades which is a part of the Great Migration 1630- 1640 The period of time known as the Great Migration 1638 The Swedes establish the colony of New Sweden in present-day Delaware 1654 The first Jewish immigrants to America arrive in New Amsterdam as refugees from a Dutch colony in South America. Specifically Sephardic Jews, they were originally forced out of Spain by the Spanish Inquisition 1655 The Dutch absorb New Sweden 1660 This was the end of a significant English migration to the Puritan Massachusetts Bay colony. Immigration is officially discouraged hereafter 1664 The Dutch loose all their North American colonies to the British 1683 The first Germans arrive on the Concord and settle in Pennsylvania 1718 The British Parliament prohibits immigration of skilled workers from the British Isles and the French found New Orleans as the capital of their vast and sparsely settled Louisiana colony 1775 An outbreak of revolutionary violence stops immigration from Britain 1790 Congress passes an act requiring two years residency in the U.S. before qualifying for citizenship 1795 The residency period required for citizenship is raised from two years to five 1798 Congress passes four laws collectively called the Alien and Sedition Acts during the Adams presidency 1800 Alien Act, one of the four Alien and Sedition, expires 1802 Naturalization Act, one of the four Alien and Sedition Acts, repealed 1840- 1920 During these years, approximately 37 million immigrants, the greatest influx ever, entered the U.S. 1848 Approximately 4,000 Germans leave Germany because of political upheaval that sweeps through Central Europe 1862 Congress passes the first law restricting immigration with the 1862 law forbidding American vessels to transport Chinese immigrants to the U.S. 1875, 1882, 1892 The additional immigration laws of 1875, 1882 and 1892 passed by Congress provides examinations of immigrants and the exclusion of convicts, polygamists, prostitutes, persons suffering from loathsome or contagious diseases, and persons liable to become public charges 1882 Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act suspending further entry of most Chinese immigrants into the U.S. 1885, 1887, 1888, 1891 Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885,1887, 1888 and 1891 prohibit immigrants from entering the U.S. to work under contracts made before their arrival 1891 Congress creates the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or the INS 1892- 1954 Ellis Island is open as a screening station for incoming immigrants 1892 The INS opens an immigration screening station at Ellis Island 1907 The U.S. and Japan sign the Gentleman's Agreement ensuring that the Japanese government will not issue passports to Japanese laborers intending to enter the U.S. Under the Gentleman's Agreement, the U.S. refrained from enacting any laws excluding Japanese immigrants until 1924 1917 Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1917 enlarging the classes of aliens excludable from the U.S. 1918 Congress passes the Anarchist Act of 1918 which expands the provisions for the exclusion of subversive aliens 1921 Congress establishes a quota system regulating the number of immigrants who enter the U.S. each year 1924 Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1924 changing the basic immigration quotas 1941 Congress passes an act that refuses visas to foreigners whose presence in the U.S. might endanger public safety 1943 Congress passes a bill repealing the laws restricting Chinese immigrants form entering the U.S. and allowing 105 Chinese immigrants to enter the U.S. annually 1945 The War Brides Act, a federal law passed in 1945, authorizes the limited admission of the wives and children of citizens honorably discharged or serving in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, without regard to quotas or other standards 1946 A federal law of 1946 authorizes the admission of persons of races indigenous to India to the U.S. under an annual quota 1948 The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 permits, before July 1 of 1950, the immigration to the U.S. of 202,000 European displaced persons, people driven form their homes in the years preceding World War II as a result of political or racial persecution and those forcibly transported form their homes during World War II 1952 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 incorporates most of the existing laws relating to immigration including two major changes: the Asiatic Barred Zone which banned most Asian immigrants since 1917 was abolished and people from all nations are given the opportunity to enter the U.S. 1953 The Refugee Act of 1953 makes an additional allocation of places for the victims of the war disaster 1965 Amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act abolishes the nation-origin quotas and establishes an annual limitation of 170,000 visas for immigrants in the eastern hemisphere 1968 A law effective in 1968 limits 120,000 immigrants annually from the western hemisphere with visas on a first come first serve basis 1977 An amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act abolishes separate quotas for the western and eastern hemispheres changing the quota to 290,000 immigrants worldwide annually with a maximum of 20,000 for any one country 1980 The Refugees Act of 1980 reduces the worldwide quota to 270,000 immigrants 1986 The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 allows most illegal aliens who have reside in the U.S. continuously since January 1 of 1982 to apply for legal status and prohibits employers from hiring illegal aliens and mandates penalties for violations 1990 The Immigration Act of 1990 sets an annual ceiling of 700,000 immigrants per year to enter the U.S. for the next three years and an annual ceiling of 675,000 per year for every year after 1996 The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act makes it easier to deport aliens attempting to enter the U.S. without proper documents FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ON SOME OF THE ABOVE EVENTS, SEE THE TEXT-ONLY TIMELINE