Museum: More to the Story

Did You Know?

In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, you didn’t need a visa to move to the United States. Those who immigrated to Sonoma Valley just took a chance and came. But there were some restrictions beginning in 1875 and everything changed in 1924.

 

Key Immigration Milestones

1845—Potato crop fails in Ireland, prompts almost 500,000 to immigrate to the U.S. over the next five years.

1848—Economic, social, and political crises in France bring 30,000 French nationals to California.

1849—California Gold Rush brings over 300,000 people to California, one-third who were immigrants from all over the world, particularly China, Latin America, and Europe.

1860—Poland's religious and economic conditions prompt immigration of approximately two million Poles by 1914.

1875—Page Act, Restricted immigration of forced laborers from Asia.

1864—Congress legalizes the importation of contract workers.

1876—California Senate committee investigates the "social, moral and political effect of Chinese immigration."

1880—Italy's troubled economy, crop failures, and political climate begin the start of mass immigration with nearly four million Italian immigrants arriving in the U.S.

1882—Chinese Exclusion Act suspends immigration of Chinese laborers under penalty of imprisonment and deportation.

1907—The US and Japan form a "Gentleman's Agreement" in which Japan ends issuance of

passports to laborers and the U.S. agrees not to prohibit Japanese immigration.

1911—Dillingham Commission identifies Mexican laborers as the best solution to the southwest labor shortage.

1917— Immigration and Literacy Act restricts individuals from the Middle East and Asia and requires all immigrants over 16 years of age to read 30-40 words of their own language.

1921—Emergency Quota Act caps the number of people coming to the US from outside the Western Hemisphere.

1924—The Immigration Act establishes fixed quotas of national origin and eliminates Far East immigration, ending the 1907 agreement .

1929-1934—During the Depression, federal and local authorities rounded up large numbers of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans, forcing them to leave their homes on the Arizona, California and Texas borders and relocate to Mexico.

1942—President Roosevelt signs an executive order sending Japanese-Americans to “internment camps.” Approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans evacuate their homes and leave their jobs to live in the camps.

1942—Congress allows for importation of agricultural workers from within North, Central. and South America. The Bracero Program brings Mexican laborers to work in the U.S.

1943 —The Magnuson Act repeals the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, establishes quotas for Chinese immigrants, and makes them eligible for U.S. citizenship.

1954—“Operation Wetback” authorizes US Border Patrol agents to remove Mexican laborers from fields and ranches in targeted raids, detain and then return them to Mexico.

1964—Bracero Program ends after temporarily employing almost 4.5 million Mexican nationals.

1965—Immigration and Nationality Act eliminates the quota system and prioritized family unification in chain migration (following others who came before to a particular destination).

1986—Immigration Reform and Control Act sets restrictions on employers and makes it illegal for people to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.

1996—Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act intensifies the law enforcement focus of US immigration laws.

2002—Homeland Security Act overhauls the federal government’s role in immigration, disbands the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and creates the Department of Homeland Security.

2006—Secure Fence Act authorizes construction of about 700 miles of barriers and surveillance along the US-Mexico border.

2012—Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) allows certain immigrants who were brought to the US as children to receive renewable protection from deportation and be eligible for work permits, obtain drivers licenses and enroll in college.

2017-On Controversial actions aimed at reducing illegal immigration and enhancing border security are proposed, legally challenged, and rescinded by past and current Presidential administrations. Congress continues to wrestle with immigration reform.