Written by Frank Scruggs
Presently, debate over immigration continues in many parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe within academic, government and the private sectors. In many cases misinformation and sound-bites skew the actual information which clouds the issue for both policymakers and constituents (voters) is to determine some criteria in which we might decide on how to deal with immigration.
The job issue is periodically leveled against many groups unpopular at a given time. In 1921, a Comprehensive Immigration Act was passed establishing the maximum number of immigrants each year and set a quota for each foreign country at 3% later changed to 2%. Although the first restrictions the U.S. Congress passed on immigration was in 1882 (1808 for Africans) and restricted all persons alleged “undesirables” and virtually all Asians, the restrictions of the Immigration Act of 1921 were in response to the wave of Southern and Eastern Europeans, Catholic and Jewish immigrants (Poland, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Greece) that entered the U.S. prior to World War I. Quotas were not abolished until the Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965—Replace with categories for relatives, family members and those with professional and skilled trades.
