CIVILISATION AMERICAINE | |

Chapitre 1 : The current immigration dilemma

I) A short reminder: American immigration policy until 1965

Debate: a lot of question about immigration today in US.

The existence of the US is linked to the immigration. US created as asylum of a refuge for all the people that were poor, persecuted, etc.
->for a long time the US practiced an open door policy: they welcomed all the people who wanted to go.

19th: They started restricting, limiting immigration with a few law, measure: • Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) • Literacy Test (1917) • National Origins Act (1924) • The Quota Act: each country was given a certain quota of immigration, a certain percentage

Why did they progressively close their doors? • A time when there was a competition for a job, sort of unfair competition. • A time when there was a criminality, immigrants accused of that.

II) The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.

Lasted until 1965: Marx, turning point immigration history.
New law=unfair.

The 1st aspect was to stop, to abolish the quota system, but created 2 new things: • There was a provision [clause] favored the reunification of families. ⇨ If a Mexican was living in US, if he wanted his wife to came in the US: favored. • A provision for political refugees. If you could prove that you were persecuted in the country were you live, you can get a special favor easier for people living in a communist country.

Effects: EXPECTED and UNEXPECTED.

• The number of immigrants increase very very much • A change in the origin of immigrants. Before 1965, about 85% of the immigrants came from Europe, but all that change after 1965: only 17% came from Europe, about 80% came from Latine-America and Asia. • A tremendous increase in number of illegal immigrants.

III) The situation in the 1990’s: a few figures.

10 millions immigrants arrived in the US.
The bug year: 1996