Immigrant Communities

The Naturalization Law of 1790 explicitly states that only "free white" immigrants who have lived in the country for 2 years can become naturalized citizens.

The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which ends the American-Mexican War, grants citizenship to all Mexicans residing in the the newly acquired territories of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Voting rights, however, are not granted; ballot materials are still given exclusively in English, and there is widespread intimidation of Mexican citizens at the polls.

The Homestead Act made many acres of land available for settlement by anyone except those who had taken up arms against the U.S. government, including immigrants. However, this same year, California passed an act discriminating against Chinese immigrants in order to "protect white labor." It imposed a tax on all Chinese immigrants attempting to do business in the state.

The Oregon Territory Supreme Court rules that American Indians are not citizens as defined by the 14th Amendment and therefore are ineligible to vote.

In order to restrict immigrant access to the polls, Massachusetts passes a law which requires voters to prove that they have been naturalized citizens for at least 30 days before registering to vote.

Originally meant as a 10-year measure, the Chinese Exclusion Act is renewed in 1892 by the Geary Act. This Act also imposes new restrictions on persons of Chinese descent living in the U.S.; any who fail to register and obtain a Certificate of Residence can be deported.

The Supreme Court rules that any person born on U.S. soil is a citizen, with the exception of those born to foreign rulers or diplomats, those born on foreign public ships, those born to enemy forces occupying U.S. territory, and those born on an Indian reservation.

The Immigration Act of 1917, also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, passes with an overwhelming majority and overrides President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. This act bans specific marginalized groups from entering the country, including members of the LGBT community, people with certain disabilities and those living in poverty - as well as making specific provisions against "polygamists and anarchists". It also bars immigration for people who are over sixteen and illiterate, as well as people from India, Afghanistan, Persia (now Iran), Arabia, parts of Russia and the Ottoman Empire (now parts of Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East), Southeast Asia, and the Asian-Pacific Islands.

The Indian Citizenship Act gives all American Indians the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote. However, many western states attempt to prevent American Indians voting.

Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Executive Order 9066 is the forced internment of 110,000 people of Japanese descent or birth living on the west coast. Over half of those interned are U.S. citizens.

The Act retains a quota system with only 2,000 immigrants allowed per year from ‘the Asia-Pacific Triangle.’ The Act defines three types of immigrants: those with special skills or relatives of United States citizens who were admitted without quota restrictions, average immigrants, and refugees. The Act also allows the government to deport immigrants or naturalized citizens engaged in subversive activities and allows the government to bar suspected subversives from entering the country. These provisions are mostly aimed at stopping members or former members of the Communist Party from immigrating.

In its ruling in Dunn v. Blumstein, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that lengthy or grueling residence requirements for voting in State elections are unconstitutional and suggests that a shorter 30-day residence in the state before the election is preferable.

President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act, apologizing for the internments of 1942 on behalf of the United States government and offering $20,000 to each camp survivor. The legislation admits that government actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."