# data[].attributes.body
This is the site of Ellis Island just off New York City. "1907 marked the busiest year at Ellis Island with over one million immigrants processed. From the beginning of the mass migration period that spanned 1880 to 1924, a relentless group of politicians and nativists demanded increased restrictions on immigration."

# data[].attributes.body
The island is alive with history… three thousand years ago it served as a fishing and hunting site for Coastal Miwok Indians. It was later a haven for Spanish Explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala, a cattle ranch, and a U.S. Army post starting with the Civil War.

From 1910 to 1940, the island processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants, the majority from China. During World War II, Japanese, and German POWs were held on the island, which was also used as a jumping-off point for American soldiers returning from the Pacific.

# data[].attributes.body
The act suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years and made Chinese immigrants ineligible for citizenship. San Francisco passed laws that targeted Chinese businesses and prohibited Chinese children from attending public schools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Transcript

An Act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese.

Whereas in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof: Therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States be, and the same is hereby, suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or having so come after the expiration of said ninety days to remain within the United States.

SEC. 2. That the master of any vessel who shall knowingly bring within the United States on such vessel, and land or permit to be landed, any Chinese laborer, from any foreign port or place, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such Chinese laborer so brought, and maybe also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year.

SEC. 3. That the two foregoing sections shall not apply to Chinese laborers who were in the United States on the seventeenth day of November, eighteen hundred and eighty, or who shall have come into the same before the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and who shall produce to such master before going on board such vessel, and shall produce to the collector of the port in the United States at which such vessel shall arrive, the evidence hereinafter in this act required of his being one of the laborers in this section mentioned; nor shall the two foregoing sections apply to the case of any master whose vessel, being bound to a port not within the United States, shall come within the jurisdiction of the United States by reason of being in distress or in stress of weather, or touching at any port of the United States on its voyage to any foreign port or place: Provided, That all Chinese laborers brought on such vessel shall depart with the vessel on leaving port.

SEC. 4. That for the purpose of properly identifying Chinese laborers who were in the United States on the seventeenth day of November eighteen hundred and eighty, or who shall have come into the same before the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and in order to furnish them with the proper evidence of their right to go from and come to the United States of their free will and accord, as provided by the treaty between the United States and China dated November seventeenth, eighteen hundred and eighty, the collector of customs of the district from which any such Chinese laborer shall depart from the United States shall, in person or by deputy, go on board each vessel having on board any such Chinese laborers and cleared or about to sail from his district for a foreign port, and on such vessel make a list of all such Chinese laborers, which shall be entered in registry-books to be kept for that purpose, in which shall be stated the name, age, occupation, last place of residence, physical marks of peculiarities, and all facts necessary for the identification of each of such Chinese laborers, which books shall be safely kept in the custom-house.; and every such Chinese laborer so departing from the United States shall be entitled to, and shall receive, free of any charge or cost upon application therefor, from the collector or his deputy, at the time such list is taken, a certificate, signed by the collector or his deputy and attested by his seal of office, in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, which certificate shall contain a statement of the name, age, occupation, last place of residence, persona description, and facts of identification of the Chinese laborer to whom the certificate is issued, corresponding with the said list and registry in all particulars. In case any Chinese laborer after having received such certificate shall leave such vessel before her departure he shall deliver his certificate to the master of the vessel, and if such Chinese laborer shall fail to return to such vessel before her departure from port the certificate shall be delivered by the master to the collector of customs for cancellation. The certificate herein provided for shall entitle the Chinese laborer to whom the same is issued to return to and re-enter the United States upon producing and delivering the same to the collector of customs of the district at which such Chinese laborer shall seek to re-enter; and upon delivery of such certificate by such Chinese laborer to the collector of customs at the time of re-entry in the United States said collector shall cause the same to be filed in the custom-house anti duly canceled.

SEC. 5. That any Chinese laborer mentioned in section four of this act being in the United States, and desiring to depart from the United States by land, shall have the right to demand and receive, free of charge or cost, a certificate of identification similar to that provided for in section four of this act to be issued to such Chinese laborers as may desire to leave the United States by water; and it is hereby made the duty of the collector of customs of the district next adjoining the foreign country to which said Chinese laborer desires to go to issue such certificate, free of charge or cost, upon application by such Chinese laborer, and to enter the same upon registry-books to be kept by him for the purpose, as provided for in section four of this act.

SEC. 6. That in order to the faithful execution of articles one and two of the treaty in this act before mentioned, every Chinese person other than a laborer who may be entitled by said treaty and this act to come within the United States, and who shall be about to come to the United States, shall be identified as so entitled by the Chinese Government in each case, such identity to be evidenced by a certificate issued under the authority of said government, which certificate shall be in the English language or (if not in the English language) accompanied by a translation into English, stating such right to come, and which certificate shall state the name, title or official rank, if any, the age, height, and all physical peculiarities, former and present occupation or profession, and place of residence in China of the person to whom the certificate is issued and that such person is entitled, conformably to the treaty in this act mentioned to come within the United States. Such certificate shall be prima-facie evidence of the fact set forth therein, and shall be produced to the collector of customs, or his deputy, of the port in the district in the United States at which the person named therein shall arrive.

SEC.7. That any person who shall knowingly and falsely alter or substitute any name for the name written in such certificate or forge any such certificate, or knowingly utter any forged or fraudulent certificate, or falsely personate any person named in any such certificate, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisoned in a penitentiary for a term of not more than five years.

SEC.8. That the master of any vessel arriving in the United States from any foreign port or place shall, at the same time he delivers a manifest of the cargo, and if there be no cargo, then at the time of making a report of the entry of the vessel pursuant to law, in addition to the other matter required to be reported, and before landing, or permitting to land, any Chinese passengers, deliver and report to the collector of customs of the district in which such vessels shall have arrived a separate list of all Chinese passengers taken on board his vessel at any foreign port or place, and all such passengers on board the vessel at that time. Such list shall show the names of such passengers (and if accredited officers of the Chinese Government traveling on the business of that government, or their servants, with a note of such facts), and the names and other particulars, as shown by their respective certificates; and such list shall be sworn to by the master in the manner required by law in relation to the manifest of the cargo. Any willful refusal or neglect of any such master to comply with the provisions of this section shall incur the same penalties and forfeiture as are provided for a refusal or neglect to report and deliver a manifest of the cargo.

SEC. 9. That before any Chinese passengers are landed from any such line vessel, the collector, or his deputy, shall proceed to examine such passenger, comparing the certificate with the list and with the passengers ; and no passenger shall be allowed to land in the United States from such vessel in violation of law.

SEC.10. That every vessel whose master shall knowingly violate any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed forfeited to the United States, and shall be liable to seizure and condemnation in any district of the United States into which such vessel may enter or in which she may be found.

SEC. 11. That any person who shall knowingly bring into or cause to be brought into the United States by land, or who shall knowingly aid or abet the same, or aid or abet the landing in the United States from any vessel of any Chinese person not lawfully entitled to enter the United States, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year.

SEC. 12. That no Chinese person shall be permitted to enter the United States by land without producing to the proper officer of customs the certificate in this act required of Chinese persons seeking to land from a vessel. And any Chinese person found unlawfully within the United States shall be caused to be removed therefrom to the country from whence he came, by direction of the President of the United States, and at the cost of the United States, after being brought before some justice, judge, or commissioner of a court of the United States and found to be one not lawfully entitled to be or remain in the United States.

SEC.13. That this act shall not apply to diplomatic and other officers of the Chinese Government traveling upon the business of that government, whose credentials shall be taken as equivalent to the certificate in this act mentioned, and shall exempt them and their body and house- hold servants from the provisions of this act as to other Chinese persons.

SEC. 14. That hereafter no State court or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citizenship; and all laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

SEC.15. That the words "Chinese laborers", wherever used in this act shall be construed to mean both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining.

Approved, May 6, 1882.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EnlargeDownload Link Citation: An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to the Chinese, May 6, 1882; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-1996; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives View All Pages in the National Archives Catalog View Transcript The Chinese Exclusion Act was approved on May 6, 1882.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. This mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes and focuses on smart immigration enforcement, preventin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. This mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes and focuses on smart immigration enforcement, preventin

# data[].attributes.body
The movement of a person or people from one country, locality, place of residence, etc., to settle in another; an instance of this.

# data[].attributes.body
There have been reports that ice has been in San Jose recently.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ICE activity continues in San Jose, Rapid Response Network says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ICE agents were back on the streets of San Jose Monday, according to the Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
DACA recipients are increasingly feeling more uncertainty as the fate of the immigration program protecting them from deportation continues to be challenged in court - at a time when President Donald Trump is pushing his administration to carry out " the largest deportation program in American history."

Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, eligible undocumented young adults who came to the United States as children have been allowed to work and study without fear of deportation since 2012, when an executive action by President Barack Obama created the program.

DACA has been hanging by a thread for the past seven years as legal challenges from the first Trump administration and nine Republican-led states have made their way through the courts.

Last month, an appeals court ruled against parts of the DACA program but allowed it to remain in effect for current beneficiaries as the case continues.

With that court decision expected to be appealed and reach the Supreme Court - which could rule against the Obama-era program - DACA recipients worry the end of their protections could mean they could face deportation.

The Trump administration has already ended a number of other immigration protections, including the CBP One app, refugee programs and Temporary Protected Status - all of which allowed recent migrants and immigrants to remain in the United States legally as many sought asylum or adjustments to their immigration status.

"That's adding to a lot of the fear and worry," Anabel Mendoza, interim director of communications at United We Dream, the nation's largest immigrant youth-led network, told NBC News.

"That continued uncertainty about what is going to happen in the courts always makes it so that there's a sense of knowing that things can change overnight with DACA," Mendoza said.

Protections - for now

DACA recipients are still protected from deportation as long as they continue to renew their status on schedule, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which has been representing DACA recipients in the legal challenges.

As the Trump administration ramps up its immigration crackdown, beneficiaries who fail to renew their DACA status in a timely manner are left in particularly vulnerable positions by losing their protection against deportation.

"Even if you have DACA, that doesn't mean that you are off the table," Mendoza said, "especially when you have an administration that has been so vocal about the fact that they see anybody who is an undocumented immigrant, who came to this country undocumented, as having done wrong and as being a target."

There was a renewed sense of fear among DACA recipients after a middle school teacher was deported to Honduras last month. The United Teachers of Dade union told NBC Miami that the teacher, 24, who was not identified by name, had protection under DACA. It's unclear whether the teacher had it when he was deported or whether it had expired, Mendoza said, adding that it is most likely one of the first deportation cases involving a DACA recipient in recent memory.

That's why it's so important for DACA recipients to renew their status on time, Mendoza said. "They need to be continuing to renew and honestly renewing the sooner the better."

What will Trump do?

Polls and surveys have consistently shown that most U.S. adults favor granting permanent legal status and a pathway to citizenship to DACA recipients and "Dreamers," who are also undocumented young adults who came to the United States as children but were left out of the DACA program.

The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. Trump said on NBC News' "Meet the Press" in December that he wanted to work with Democrats and Republicans on a plan "to do something about the Dreamers."

High-profile Trump supporters like the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, an influential conservative Latino evangelical, seem to have taken such comments to mean the current Trump administration "will work on finding a solution for Dreamers" if DACA is permanently terminated. In an interview last week, Rodriguez said he believes Trump will work to find "a pathway to legalize" Dreamers.

But Mendez and other DACA supporters say they haven't yet gotten any indication that's what the administration plans to do.

After all, the lengthy legal battle that has put DACA at risk started when Trump sought to end it in 2017, an effort the Supreme Court blocked in 2020.

Many of the Republican-led states trying to terminate the program in federal court are in line with Trump's immigration policies.

Though the Trump administration has promised to prioritize deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, immigration officials have said that any undocumented person may be arrested during enforcement actions.

Building a life - and wanting 'to stay'

DACA has been closed for new applicants since the legal challenges began, shutting out an estimated 400,000 people who could have benefited from it. But for about 580,000 existing DACA recipients and their families, the future remains uncertain.

Sandra Avalos, 36, was brought to the United States from Mexico in 1996, when she was 7 years old. She has called Texas her home ever since.

A college graduate, a homeowner and a mother to a teenager, Avalos has made a career in the nonprofit sector, working with first-generation college students and immigrants. In 2015, the year she battled thyroid cancer, she applied for DACA.

Avalos has been consistently renewing her DACA status for the past nine years. The protection, she said, has allowed her to build a career, have a driver's license and feel safe from deportation when she takes her son to school.

"I want to stay in this country," Avalos said. "I want to see my kid go through with high school, finish, graduate and then go off to college. I want to be here for all of that."

"At this time," Avalos said, "it's kind of difficult to see that there is an opportunity for us."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
DACA recipients worry about being ensnared in Trump's immigration crackdown

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With the president already ending various legal immigration programs and the fate of DACA remaining uncertain, Dreamers fear for their protections.

# data[].attributes.body
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) allows young immigrants who grew up in the U.S. to seek temporary protection from deportation and to have the ability to work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover the impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on over 835,000 people and our fight for a path to citizenship.

# data[].attributes.body
The movement of a person or people from one country, locality, place of residence, etc., to settle in another; an instance of this.

# data[].attributes.body
U.S. intervention in Central and South America has caused economic crisis in numerous countries and triggered mass immigration.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
University Outreach and Engagement - Communication and Information Technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Manmade Immigration Crisis Caused by U.S. Intervention in Latin America - Julian Samora Research Institute - Michigan State University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The mission of the Julian Samora Research Institute is to generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge to serve the needs of Latino communities in the Midwest and across the nation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Trump is trying to revoke Birthright citizenships 

# data[].attributes.subject
Trump is trying to revoke Birthright citizenships 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trump’s obsession with immigration is really an obsession with segregation | Heba Gowayed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
His policies are the latest instantiation of a centuries-long American tradition: laws meant to exclude people of color and privilege whiteness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
U.S. Immigration Timeline: Definition & Reform - HISTORY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A timeline of U.S. immigration shows how, from the 1600s to today, the United States became a nation of people from hundreds of cultures, languages and beliefs.

# data[].attributes.body
People migrate for many reasons, including economic opportunity, safety, and environmental factors.

Economic opportunity To find better jobs, To escape poverty, and To pursue higher education.

Safety

To escape conflict, war, or persecution

To escape human rights violations

To escape religious intolerance

To escape political repression

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Map the Impact: Immigrants Make Up Over 18% of the Total US Population Growth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Map the Impact, an annual analysis of U.S. immigration data, reveals notable shifts in the demographics of foreign-born residents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What has changed with immigration under Trump and what is still playing out?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
President Donald Trump has signed 10 executive orders on immigration and issued a slew of edicts to carry out promises of mass deportations and border security.

# data[].attributes.body
Immigrants are 47% less likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Debunking the Myth of the ‘Migrant Crime Wave’

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Data does not support claims that the United States is experiencing a surge in crime caused by immigrants.

# data[].attributes.body
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. Most (probably all) laws regarding immigration would be related to this.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Most of that amount, $59.4 billion, was paid to the federal government while the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments.

# data[].attributes.headline
Contribution from undocumented people in USA 2022

# data[].attributes.subject
Contribution from undocumented people in USA 2022

# data[].attributes.body
A South Carolina man was arrested after allegedly impersonating an ICE agent after a video surfaced online. This comes after a string of men in other states have also been accused of impersonating federal agents.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video shows a South Carolina man appearing to impersonate an ICE agent

# data[].attributes.body
When a minor under 21 immigrates with parents/guardians, the child will need to apply for their own citizenship, once they come of age.

Naturalization through Military

Under USCIS, they assist with the process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction

The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.

Literacy Tests and "Asiatic Barred Zone"

In 1917, the U.S. Congress enacted the first widely restrictive immigration law. The uncertainty generated over national security during World War I made it possible for Congress to pass this legislation, and it included several important provisions that paved the way for the 1924 Act. The 1917 Act implemented a literacy test that required immigrants over 16 years old to demonstrate basic reading comprehension in any language. It also increased the tax paid by new immigrants upon arrival and allowed immigration officials to exercise more discretion in making decisions over whom to exclude. Finally, the Act excluded from entry anyone born in a geographically defined "Asiatic Barred Zone" except for Japanese and Filipinos. In 1907, the Japanese Government had voluntarily limited Japanese immigration to the United States in the Gentlemen's Agreement. The Philippines was a U.S. colony, so its citizens were U.S. nationals and could travel freely to the United States. China was not included in the Barred Zone, but the Chinese were already denied immigration visas under the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Immigration Quotas

The literacy test alone was not enough to prevent most potential immigrants from entering, so members of Congress sought a new way to restrict immigration in the 1920s. Immigration expert and Republican Senator from Vermont William P. Dillingham introduced a measure to create immigration quotas, which he set at three percent of the total population of the foreign-born of each nationality in the United States as recorded in the 1910 census. This put the total number of visas available each year to new immigrants at 350,000. It did not, however, establish quotas of any kind for residents of the Western Hemisphere. President Wilson opposed the restrictive act, preferring a more liberal immigration policy, so he used the pocket veto to prevent its passage. In early 1921, the newly inaugurated President Warren Harding called Congress back to a special session to pass the law. In 1922, the act was renewed for another two years.

Senator William P. Dillingham

When the congressional debate over immigration began in 1924, the quota system was so well-established that no one questioned whether to maintain it, but rather discussed how to adjust it. Though there were advocates for raising quotas and allowing more people to enter, the champions of restriction triumphed. They created a plan that lowered the existing quota from three to two percent of the foreign-born population. They also pushed back the year on which quota calculations were based from 1910 to 1890.

Another change to the quota altered the basis of the quota calculations. The quota had been based on the number of people born outside of the United States, or the number of immigrants in the United States. The new law traced the origins of the whole of the U.S. population, including natural-born citizens. The new quota calculations included large numbers of people of British descent whose families had long resided in the United States. As a result, the percentage of visas available to individuals from the British Isles and Western Europe increased, but newer immigration from other areas like Southern and Eastern Europe was limited.

The 1924 Immigration Act also included a provision excluding from entry any alien who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship. Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian lineage from naturalizing. As a result, the 1924 Act meant that even Asians not previously prevented from immigrating - the Japanese in particular - would no longer be admitted to the United States. Many in Japan were very offended by the new law, which was a violation of the Gentlemen's Agreement. The Japanese government protested, but the law remained, resulting in an increase in existing tensions between the two nations. Despite the increased tensions, it appeared that the U.S. Congress had decided that preserving the racial composition of the country was more important than promoting good ties with Japan.

The restrictive principles of the Act could have resulted in strained relations with some European countries as well, but these potential problems did not appear for several reasons. The global depression of the 1930s, World War II, and stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration policy served to curtail European emigration. When these crises had passed, emergency provisions for the resettlement of displaced persons in 1948 and 1950 helped the United States avoid conflict over its new immigration laws.

In all of its parts, the most basic purpose of the 1924 Immigration Act was to preserve the ideal of U.S. homogeneity. Congress revised the Act in 1952.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Milestones: 1921-1936 - Office of the Historian

# data[].attributes.body
Immigration has both positive and negative impacts on host countries, and immigration policies need to be cleverly designed to promote positive outcomes and reduce concerns for the local population.

# data[].attributes.body
98.9% of americans are not descended from indigenous groups.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Summaries of detailed demographic and health data, including incidence prevalence, and mortality of diseases and related health conditions impacting American Indians and Alaska Natives.

# data[].attributes.body
The Immigration Act of 1929 included the Undesirable Alien Act which was intended to limit Mexican immigrants.

# data[].attributes.body
"Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands. No free and prosperous nation can by itself accommodate all those who seek a better life or flee persecution. We must share this responsibility with other countries."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
July 30, 1981

Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands. No free and prosperous nation can by itself accommodate all those who seek a better life or flee persecution. We must share this responsibility with other countries.

The bipartisan select commission which reported this spring concluded that the Cuban influx to Florida made the United States sharply aware of the need for more effective immigration policies and the need for legislation to support those policies.

For these reasons, I asked the Attorney General last March to chair a Task Force on Immigration and Refugee Policy. We discussed the matter when President Lopez Portillo visited me last month, and we have carefully considered the views of our Mexican friends. In addition, the Attorney General has consulted with those concerned in Congress and in affected States and localities and with interested members of the public.

The Attorney General is undertaking administrative actions and submitting to Congress, on behalf of the administration, a legislative package, based on eight principles. These principles are designed to preserve our tradition of accepting foreigners to our shores, but to accept them in a controlled and orderly fashion:

We shall continue America's tradition as a land that welcomes peoples from other countries. We shall also, with other countries, continue to share in the responsibility of welcoming and resettling those who flee oppression.

At the same time, we must ensure adequate legal authority to establish control over immigration: to enable us, when sudden influxes of foreigners occur, to decide to whom we grant the status of refugee or asylee; to improve our border control; to expedite (consistent with fair procedures and our Constitution) return of those coming here illegally; to strengthen enforcement of our fair labor standards and laws; and to penalize those who would knowingly encourage violation of our laws. The steps we take to further these objectives, however, must also be consistent with our values of individual privacy and freedom.

We have a special relationship with our closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico. Our immigration policy should reflect this relationship.

We must also recognize that both the United States and Mexico have historically benefited from Mexicans obtaining employment in the United States. A number of our States have special labor needs, and we should take these into account.

Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force. Those who have established equities in the United States should be recognized and accorded legal status. At the same time, in so doing, we must not encourage illegal immigration.

We shall strive to distribute fairly, among the various localities of this country, the impacts of our national immigration and refugee policy, and we shall improve the capability of those agencies of the Federal Government which deal with these matters.

We shall seek new ways to integrate refugees into our society without nurturing their dependence on welfare.

Finally, we recognize that immigration and refugee problems require international solutions. We will seek greater international cooperation in the resettlement of refugees and, in the Caribbean Basin, international cooperation to assist accelerated economic development to reduce motivations for illegal immigration.

Immigration and refugee policy is an important part of our past and fundamental to our national interest. With the help of the Congress and the American people, we will work towards a new and realistic immigration policy, a policy that will be fair to our own citizens while it opens the door of opportunity for those who seek a new life in America.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Statement on United States Immigration and Refugee Policy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
July 30, 1981 Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands. No free and prosperous nation can by itself accommodate all those who seek a better life or flee persecution.