There was no illegal way to immigrate into the US until 1924...but don't mention this to anyone.
| TIMELINE OF IMMIGRATION TO U.S. 1815-1950 |
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1815: |
The first great wave of immigration begins, bringing 5 million immigrants between 1815 and 1860. |
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1818: |
Liverpool becomes the most-used port of departure for Irish and British immigrants. |
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1819: |
The first federal legislation on immigration requires notation of passenger lists. |
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1820: |
The U.S. population is about 9.6 million. About 151,000 new immigrants arrive in 1820 alone. |
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1825: |
Great Britain decrees that England is overpopulated and repeals laws prohibiting emigration. The first group of Norwegian immigrants arrive. |
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1846-7: |
Crop failures in Europe. Mortgage foreclosures send tens of thousands of the dispossessed to United States. |
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1846: |
Irish of all classes emigrate to the United States as a result of the potato famine. |
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1848: |
German political refugees emigrate following the failure of a revolution. |
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1862: |
The Homestead Act encourages naturalization by granting citizens title to 160 acres. |
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1875: |
First limitations on immigration. Residency permits required of Asians. |
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1880: |
The U.S. population is 50,155,783. More than 5.2 million immigrants enter the country between 1880 and 1890. |
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1882: |
Chinese exclusion law is established. Russian anti-Semitism prompts a sharp rise in Jewish emigration. |
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1890: |
New York is home to as many Germans as Hamburg, Germany. |
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1891: |
The Bureau of Immigration is established. Congress adds health qualifications to immigration restrictions. |
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1892: |
Ellis Island replaces Castle Garden. |
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1894-6: |
To escape Moslem massacres, Armenian Christians emigrate. |
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1897: |
Pine-frame buildings on Ellis Island are burned to the ground in a disastrous fire. |
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1900: |
The U.S. population is 75,994,575. More than 3,687,000 immigrants were admitted in the previous ten years. Ellis Island receiving station reopens with brick and ironwork structures. |
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1906: |
Bureau of Immigration is established. |
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1910: |
The Mexican Revolution sends thousands to the United States seeking employment. |
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1914-8: |
World War I halts a period of mass migration to the United States. |
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1921: |
The first quantitave immigration law sets temporary annual quotas according to nationality. Immigration drops off. |
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1924: |
The National Origins Act establishes a discriminatory quota system. The Border Patrol is established. |
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1940: |
The Alien Registration Act calls for registration and fingerprinting of all aliens. Approximately 5 million aliens register. |
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1946: |
The War Brides Act facilitates the immigration of foreign-born wives, fiances, husbands, and children of U.S. Armed Forces personnel. |
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1952: |
The Immigration and Naturalization Act brings into one comprehensive statute the multiple laws that govern immigration and naturalization to date. |
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1954: |
Ellis Island closes, marking an end to mass immigration |