Illegal immigration has been a major concern in the United States, driving heated
arguments since the middle of the previous century. Some support loose immigration policies
and open borders, seeing this as more consistent with humanitarian values. Others are violently
opposed to open borders and urge a much more stringent immigration policy. The polarization
arises from disagreement over visions of human rights and which policy is most in the interest of
the citizens of the United States. To understand the issue at hand, one needs to consider the
background in legislation that has framed the discussion on illegal immigration. This essay will
trace the evolution of immigration policy and the various legislation that have framed the current
debate.
History
Laws regarding immigration have been enacted since the foundation of the United States. The
Naturalization Act of 1790 outlined the procedures for naturalized citizenship but made no
mention of immigration. The Alien Friends Act of 1798 allowed the president to detain and
deport immigrants that were deemed harmful or suspected of being a threat to national security.
Birthright citizenship was enshrined in the text of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution,
added in 1868. "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." It also
guaranteed due process and equal protection of the law for all individuals within the U.S.
The Immigration Act of 1924 established the first numerical limits on immigration and
provided for the U.S. Border Patrol. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, also known
as the McCarran-Walter Act expanded the government's right to deport individuals suspected of
Communist sympathies. It also lifted a ban on the immigration of the people from Asian,
establishing ceilings based upon specific Asian nations: "The law repealed the last of the existing
measures to exclude Asian immigration, allotted each Asian nation a minimum quota of 100
visas each year and eliminated laws preventing Asians from becoming naturalized American
citizens". Thus, the 1990 immigration law increased the ceiling for immigration. This tripled the
number available to workers in such demand. The Secure Fence Act in 2006 authorized building
fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2012, DHS announced that individuals who came to
the United States as children might request deferred action for two years. The published DACA
Final Rule, on August 30, 2022, memorialized and codified the DACA policy, replacing the
original 2012 guidance.
Immigration policy and reform happen at all levels of government. For example, Texas
passes legislation to handle immigration concerns at the local level, and at the federal level, laws
are passed through the legislative branch. The executive branch also has significant involvement
in the development of immigration policy using executive actions. In 2021, President Biden
signed an executive order that undid many of the immigration policies enacted by the previous
administration. Significantly, Executive Order 13768, dated January 25, 2017, entitled
Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, was officially revoked: "Executive
Order 13768., is hereby revoked" (2021). Introduced during the Trump regime, Executive Order
13768 was designed to enhance immigration law enforcement by focusing on the removal of
aliens who illegally entered the United States or who are present without legal authorization. It
focused on the fact that "Federal immigration law provides a framework for Federal-State
partnerships in enforcing our immigration laws to ensure the removal of aliens who have no right
to be in the United States," while it also criticized the federal government for not adequately
performing this duty (2021). The Biden administration has rolled back many of the previous
administration's restrictive immigration policies in favor of more lenient immigration policies.
Citizenship and Immigration Services: https://www.uscis.gov/DACA
Constitution of the United States. (1868). Retrieved from Constitution Annotated:
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/
Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States. (2017). Retrieved from Federal
Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/30/2017-02102/enhancing-
public-safety-in-the-interior-of-the-united-states
Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities.
(2021). Retrieved from White House.gov: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-the-revision-of-civil-immigration-
enforcement-policies-and-priorities/
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (The McCarran-Walter Act). (2018). Retrieved
from Office of the Historian: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/immigration-
act.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
