List of United States immigration laws

Naturalization Act of 1798

• Extended the naturalization process to "aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent."
• Other non-whites were not included in this act and remained excluded from naturalization, per the Naturalization Act of 1790

• The first federal immigration law and prohibited the entry of immigrants considered as "undesirable"
• The law classified as "undesirable" any individual from Asia who was coming to America to be a contract laborer
• Strengthen the ban against "coolie" laborers, by imposing a fine of up to $2,000 and maximum jail sentence of one year upon anyone who tried to bring a person from China, Japan, or any oriental country to the United States "without their free and voluntary consent, for the purpose of holding them to a term of service"

• Restricted immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years.
• Prohibited Chinese naturalization.
• Provided deportation procedures for illegal Chinese.
• Marked the birth of illegal immigration (in America).[1]
• The Act was "a response to racism [in America] and to anxiety about threats from cheap labor [from China]."[2]

• Imposed a 50 cent head tax to fund immigration officials.

• First comprehensive immigration laws for the US.
• Bureau of Immigration set up in the Treasury Dept.[3]
• Immigration Bureau directed to deport unlawful aliens.
• Empowered "the superintendent of immigration to enforce immigration laws".[4]
• Prohibited polygamists and those with contagious diseases from entering the United States.
• Expanded immigration enforcement to land borders.

• Standardized naturalization procedures
• Made some knowledge of English a requirement for citizenship
• Established the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization

• Limited the number of immigrants a year from any country to 3% of those already in the US from that country as per the 1910 census, establishing the National Origins Formula.

"An unintended consequence of the 1920s legislation was an increase in illegal immigration. Many Europeans who did not fall under the quotas migrated to Canada or Mexico, which [as Western Hemisphere nations] were not subject to national-origin quotas; [and] subsequently they slipped into the United States illegally."[5]

• Created the United States Border Patrol.
• Imposed first permanent numerical limit on immigration.
• Began a national-origin quota system.
• Total annual immigration was capped at 150,000. Immigrants fit into two categories: those from quota-nations and those from non-quota nations.
• Immigrant visas from quota-nations were restricted to the same ratio of residents from the country of origin out of 150,000 as the ratio of foreign-born nationals in the United States. The percentage out of 150,000 was the relative number of visas a particular nation received.
• Non-quota nations, notably those contiguous to the United States only had to prove an immigrant's residence in that country of origin for at least two years prior to emigration to the United States.
• Laborers from Asiatic nations were excluded but exceptions existed for professionals, clergy, and students to obtain visas.

• Allowed foreign-born children of American mothers and alien fathers who had entered America before age 18 and lived in America for five years to apply for American citizenship for the first time.
• Made the naturalization process quicker for American women's alien husbands.

• Set a quota for aliens with skills needed in the US.
• Increased the power of the government to deport illegal immigrants suspected of Communist sympathies.

• Repealed the national-origin quotas.
• Initiated a visa system for family reunification and skills.
• Set a quota for Western Hemisphere immigration.
• Set a 20k country limit for Eastern Hemisphere aliens.

• Created a policy for admitting refugees with the United Nations’ definition of refugees[6]
• Set an annual cap of 50,000 refugees.

• Started sanctions for knowingly hiring illegal aliens.
• Provided amnesty to illegal aliens already in the US.[7]
• Increased border enforcement.
• Made it a crime to hire an illegal immigrant
• Created a path to permanent residency for some unauthorized immigrant workers[6]
• Created the H-2A visa for seasonal agricultural workers[6]

• Increased legal immigration ceilings.
• Created a diversity admissions category.
• Tripled the number of visas for priority workers and professionals with U.S. job offers [8]

• Included a provision requiring an automated entry and exit control system for non-citizens.
• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
  • Phone verification for worker authentication by employers.
  • Access to welfare benefits more difficult for legal aliens.
  • Increased border enforcement.
  • Reed Amendment attempted to deny visas to former U.S. citizens, but was never enforced[9]

• Provided for more Border Patrol agents.
• Requires that schools report foreign students attending classes.
• Stipulates that foreign nationals in the US will be required to carry IDs with biometric technology.[10]

• Moved all transportation, customs, immigration, and border security agencies to operate under the Department of Homeland Security.
• Requires agencies to share information and coordinate efforts in relation to national security and border control.
• Stipulates which agencies are responsible for which duties in relation to immigration and border security.
• Outlines specific requirements on handling of children in immigration and border issues.

• Required use of IDs meeting certain security standards to enter government buildings, board planes, open bank accounts.
• Created more restrictions on political asylum
• Severely curtailed habeas corpus relief for immigrants
• Increased immigration enforcement mechanisms
• Altered judicial review
• Established national standards for state driver licenses.
• Cleared the way for the building of border barriers.