Immigration, 1917-80

Early immigration

pre-WW1: 'open door' policy to immigration
traditionally welcomed immigrants- from 1774-1874: around 170,000 immigrants entered the USA every year
1907: 1.2 million immigrants of which 81% were from Southern and Eastern Europe
vast majority of new immigrants went to live and work in cities= rapid urban growth due to increasing industrialisation
1894: Immigration Restriction League established to restrict immigration into the US- lobbied politicians to pass an immigration restriction bill- finally passed in 1917
Dillingham commission reported in 1911: said immigration posed a serious threat to American society and culture
distinguished between the 'old' immigrants (English, German, Irish) and the 'new' immigrants from southern and eastern Europe (seen to be racially inferior and did not assimilate)

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post-war isolationism
government wanted less contact with the rest of the world and immigration was a controllable point of contact
Dillingham Report
Red Scare 1919-20 and Russian Revolution 1917
spike in unemployment- fear that immigrants were 'taking jobs'
thousands deported during the Red Scare
1917 Immigration Act: lists 'undesireable' immigrants to be excluded- homesexuals, criminals and 'insane persons', also imposes literacy qualification for anyone over 16
1921 Emergency Quota Act: restricts yearly no. of immigrants from any country to 3% of that population in the US in 1910
1924 Johnson-Reed Immigration Act- changes quota to 2% of 1890 population- more nothern Europeans
1929 National Origins Formula: confirms total number of immigrants fixed at 150,000 and bans Asian immigration altogther

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hostility towards new immigrants from already established communities
new immigrants increased competition for housing and jobs at a time when white and black rural migrants were entering cities
1910: 1.2% of US urban population was black- 4.1% by 1920
% of those who were foreign-born/had foreign-born parents increased from 74% to 85%
immgration from South and Central America (particularly Mexico) increased rapidly in the 1920s to fill the demand for cheap labour in Southern US states
many of these immigrants were illegal- employers exploited their fear of deportation and made them work in terrible conditions
once the Depression hit: officials began to deport immigrants
white workers moved into cities in search of work
estimated around 400,000 immigrants deported during the Depression

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1920s: US cities were growing for a number of reasons
industrial expansion meant more workers were needed
immigrants tended to move to areas where there was already an established community of thier nationality/there was a language connection
in 1920: 36% of the New York population were foreign-born
most urban areas were informally segregated by ethnic group
many towns and cities had areas known as 'little Italy'
over time- immigrants had children who were more assimilated- cultural differences became less important
1914: 1,300 foreign-language newspapers published in the US- only 75 by the 1960s
most of the workers in Henry Ford's factory were Eastern European
newest immigrants were at 'the bottom of the heap'- lowest wages, worst conditions etc.
some succeeded: by 1920- Irish politicans, policemen and lawyers in Boston and Italian professionals in New York
became an important voting bloc- campaigned for Roosevelt in the Depression

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Once the US entered the war- Italian-, German- and Japanese-Americans were classed as enemy aliens
although the Japanese-American population were small, they were treated most harshly because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
around 120,000 were placed in internment camps, property confiscated
fewer than 1% of Germans and Italians were interned
as the war continued- attitudes worsened
business owners with Italian- or German-sounding names were attacked/people stopped shopping at their business
thousands of young men who were technically enemy aliens signed up to fight in the war and were allowed to serve in segregated units

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1940 Alien Registration Act requires non-citizens entering the country to register with the federal government: is originally a wartime control but is kept in place after 1945
1952 Immigration and Nationality Act still uses the quota system: introduces a preference for skilled workers and maintains a total limit
after the start of the Cold War: the US takes in refugees fleeing the spread of European communism
200,000 Cuban refugees entered the US from 1959-62
Kennedy was a fierce critic of the quota system and was working on the 1965 Hart-Celler Act when he was assassinated
1965 Hart-Celler Act: abolishes quotas, sets limit of 170,000 immigrants per year and allows for more Asian immigration
1965-70: immigration from Asia quadrupled- after fall of Saigon in 1975, the US took in 130,000 Vietnamese immigrants
Operation Wet Back begins in 1954 and deports illegal Hispanic immigrants
1976: 20,000 limit on immigration into the US
illegal immigration increased after 1976 restrictions
shifting attitudes: Liberal politicians were keener to accept immigrants but public attitude varied around the US- when the economy suffered, attitudes towards immigrants worsened
by 1980: desire to control immigration, both legal and illegal

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