This is an absurdly low number which covers not only seasonal agricultural workers but also summer jobs in every resort in the US - jobs that college students used to do. This is probably the only time Bard and I agree on a govt policy. I hate the idea that our govt is happy to have millions of people in an underground capacity in our country, but severely restricts 'legalizing' workers who are part of our economy.
Barb Mikulski has sponsored an amendment to some bill to increase this number because many crab pickers in Somerset County come from Mexico. I find that revealing! There should not be one person left on welfare on the Maryland rolls before we need imported crab pickers.
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I have never heard or read of immigrant ships dropping people off while coming up the bay. Captains had to sign ship manifests when they left port in the UK or Ireland, and had to account for the passengers when they arrived in America. AFAIK
The discussion of Irish immigration is too apples and oranges on this thread. You and I were referencing the post-famine Irish. muawiyah seems to be more interested in colonial ancestors. Of course ships, barques, schooners, etc stopped all up and down the bay in colonial times.
BTW, we have a colonial ancestor who was a ship master and was prosecuted in England for murder on the high seas. He was in the business of transporting prisoners, ca 1740. He was acquitted.
For one thing I know old Teach, the pirate, didn't sign any gol-darned manifests!
Neither did George Washington, nor George Mason!
Did you know that plantations on the Potomac River generally had what are known as deep water port facilities. The channel drops off quite smartly a few feet from shore. More than a few "immigrants" from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and other places arrived in Virginia at various spots along the Potomac (which is, of course, part of the Chesapeake). In only a few cases did any of them have a recorded arrival.
It was an awful long time AFTER the American Revolution before anyone thought to impose much in the way of regulation on those folks. After all, we are hardly talking about a canal in Europe. This is America, and until recent times folks took their liberties seriously.