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by jamhelmcor » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:22 am
Immigration legislation in the United States dates back to 1790, where the Naturalization Act of 1790 laid down the rules for naturalized citizenship, as delineated in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. At the time, no restrictions were placed on immigration but citizenship was limited to white persons. By 1795 and 1798, Naturalization Acts were enacted that required individuals to establish the date of initial residency as well as lengthening the required period of residency before becoming a U.S. citizen. In the 1800s, several legislative acts were enacted that placed restrictions on immigration. The Page Act of 1875 was the first federal that prohibited the entry of immigrants considered to be “undesirable.â€
