International political considerations are also factors which are involved. They look to traditional American humanitarian concern for the oppressed. “These refugees, escapees, and distressed peoples now constitute an economic and political threat of constantly growing magnitude. Quoting from President Eisenhower’s letter which accompanied the draft legislation: The RRA originated as an Administration bill, and combined humanitarian concern for the refugees and escapees with international political considerations. Thirty percent of the admissions during the life of the Act were Italians, followed by Germans, Yugoslavs, and Greeks. The Refugee Relief Act ( RRA) of August 7, 1953, and the amendments of August 1954, authorized the admission of 214,000 refugees from war-torn Europe and escapees from Communist-occupied countries. Major refugee admissions occurred outside the national origins quota system during the 1950s. Refugee Admissions in the 1950s and 1960s Although subsequently modified – in particular by the 1965 amendments, which repealed the national origins quotas – the INA of 1952 remains the chief basis of U.S.Thus, Section 212(f) states: “Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.” Granted the Chief Executive broad powers to exclude groups of aliens deemed harmful to U.S.Tightened security and screening standards and procedures.Established preferences for skilled workers and relatives of U.S.Repealed the last of the existing measures to exclude Asian immigration and eliminated laws preventing Asians from becoming naturalized American citizens.Limited immigration from the Eastern Hemisphere, while leaving the Western Hemisphere unrestricted. Reaffirmed the national origins quota system.
Merged multiple laws governing immigration and naturalization into one comprehensive statute.The legislation was, in many ways, an attempt to resolve the tension between the desire to improve America’s image outside of Western Europe – in Asia as well as Central and Eastern Europe – and the national security imperative to keep out attempted communist infiltration during a period of rapid and aggressive red expansion on a global scale. The Immigration and Nationality Act ( INA) of 1952 was passed in the context of Cold War rivalry with a growing international communist threat.The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (1996)Īmerican Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (1998)Īmerican Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (2000) Legal Immigration and the Immigration Act of 1990 The INA Amendments of 1965 and Their Aftermath The 1970s through 1990s: Immigration Issues, Review, and Revision Refugee Admissions in the 1950s and 1960s Immigration Policies: 1950s - Present Table of Contents The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
For more information, check out President Trump’s immigration accomplishments and our Trump Tracker.However, those efforts have frequently been blocked by activist courts and partisan gridlock in Congress, as well as their unwillingness to amend our current immigration laws. Since assuming office in January 2017, President Trump has used the authority granted to him by Congress to improve immigration enforcement and address the worsening crisis at our southern border.immigration policy since the 1960s has been toward liberalization of immigration laws and increasingly lax enforcement. Despite periodic efforts by Congress to strengthen enforcement, the overall trend in U.S.As a result, America has experienced both “great waves” of immigrants and “great lulls,” with very little immigration. immigration policy has, in reality, alternated between more permissive and more restrictive schemes. Contrary to the popular narrative that America has always been a nation of mass immigration (“a nation of immigrants”), U.S.Since its initial passage, the INA has been modified several times by means of the Immigration Act of 1990, the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and others.The primary statute governing immigration to the United States is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 ( INA).