Immigration

Over the past ten or so years, the debate over Immigration and the rules and laws associated with them have come to a head. Our country is almost literally being flooded with illegal aliens searching for work and many people have boisterously voiced their opinion. I live in New Jersey and I know for a fact that there are tons of illegal immigrants all around my area, so I can only imagine how many there are in the southern states. There have been furious debates over whether or not illegal aliens should be able to attain certain rights. Immigration is not a new topic in this country. It has always been an issue of furious debate in this country. In the early part of the 1900s, the American government was getting tired of all the immigrants coming from other countries, mainly from southern and western Europe, so they tried to put a stop to it. In 1924, an Immigration Act was implemented that "limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890, according to the Census of 1890." During the late 1800s, the population of European Immigrants was very small because the countries that were being targeted in 1924 weren't having the same problems and issues that they were in the late 1800s, thus a lot less people had migrated over to America.

In the years before 1924, there has been a lot of other Immigration Acts, but this one was America trying to put the nail in the coffin. Our government firmly believed that implementing this quote would improve the overall quality of life, cleanliness, and morale in many major cities. Many people were immigrating to this country for many the same reasons they do it today. The "American Dream" was almost a fever that swept across the Western World. The poor in many countries thought they could come to America and reinvent themselves and better support their families. However, upon coming here, many immigrants were taken advantage of by political bosses and factory owners. European immigrants left one dismal city and arrived in a foreign city much in the same condition. Immigrants were forced into slum and tenant housing and worked ridiculous hours for mere pocket change. However, this didn't stop the surge of immigrants, so the American government tried to put it's foot down. The Act was passed with hardly any opposition. Of course there were opponents, but many Americans were sick and tired of these foreigners "ruining" their country.

Obviously, today we see many similarities on the topic of immigration. Many Americans are furious about the current system and many are clamoring for change. An act such as this won't really have any effect on today's immigration, though, because many immigrants are here illegally. However, it is interesting to see how America dealt with the issue 90 years ago. The act was eventually altered, but it took until 1965.