Immigration: Undocumented Immigrants

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There are many definitions of being an immigrant. Aliens is on that comes from a foreign country, illegal alien is one who violates our laws and a criminal under the United States law and who do not owe allegiance. Immigrants are persons that migrate to another country to make permanent residence. Undocumented immigrants are persons that do not seek permanent residency. With all the different types of immigrant’s society is quick to judge as to why they come to the United States. Scientists believe that 20,000 years ago, humans came to America over the Bering Straits. In 1500, the migration of Europeans would begin. They migrated to find land and hoped to find political and religion freedom. Even though Native Americans had made their establishments …show more content…

The Census, which is done every 10 years, is a way to count how many people and ethnic groups live in the United States. With the English being the largest ethnic group, there were 3.9 million people accounted for. Among the 3.9 people, 20% were of African heritage followed by German, Scottish, and Irish. Not counted in the Census were the Native Americans. The Naturalization act which stipulated “any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States.” (libertyellisfoundation.org) An average of 6000 people, including French refugees, had migrated in the early years of the republic, by 1806 the movement of immigration had reduced because of the differences between England and France because of the shipping lanes in the Atlantic. Immigration also reduce during the war between the United States and Britain in 1806. By 1814, ports in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston were overwhelmed with sick and dying newcomers that had taken a long journey. In 1819, the Steerage Act was passed by congress, that required captains to keep log of all passengers and to provide better civilized conditions for …show more content…

New York had provided work for nearly one million immigrants. 27 million people had entered the United States and 12 million of those immigrants had come through Ellis Island. Even though in 1882 Congress had passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which restricted the Chinese to come to the United States, and in 1907 “Gentlemen’s Agreement” with Japan, would only allow the Asians to enter at Angel Island Immigration in San Francisco Bay, where this would be the furthest that they could travel, attitudes had shifted about immigration by the Americans. World War I outbreak caused the many series of laws to be passed to limit the number of immigrants that could come over in the early

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