Immigration Timeline

Immigration Timeline

Major events during the Colonial and Revolutionary Era

• Late 1500s - First colony in Florida founded by Spain
• 1607 - First permanent colony founded at Jamestown, Virginia
• 1620 - First English colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts
• 1630 - The Puritans arrived in Massachusetts pursuing religious freedom
• 1607-1732 - All 13 original colonies were founded between this time
• 1754-1763 - The French and Indian War
• 1776 - The colonies declared their freedom from England
• 1783 - The Revolutionary War ended and the colonies gained their freedom
• 1789 - The U.S. Constitution as ratified
• 1789 - George Washington became the first president of the United States of America

Major events during the First Immigration Wave

• number of immigrants during this time was around 7.5 million
• Steerage Act of 1819, requiring ship captains to keep detailed passenger records and provide more humane conditions for those on board.
• In 1848, with the discovery of Gold, there was a spur of Chinese and Latin American immigrants to the west coast
• Most newcomers entered through New York City during this time period
• Irish immigrants from the 1840's and 1850's came to escape a nightmare - a devastating potato famine

Major events during the Second Immigration Wave

• In 1907 Japanese immigration was limited
• Chinese immigration was stopped in 1902 due to Chinese Exclusion Act.
• In 1892 Ellis Island was opened for easier processing of immigrants.
• Outbreak of WWI in 1914 caused a decline in immigration.
• In 1917, Congress enacted legislation requiring immigrants over 16 to pass a literacy test.

Major events during Third and Fourth Immigration Wave

• 1880 - Railroad business expanding
• 1917 - Restrictive immigration laws set into place by Congress
• 1917 - Immigration Act of 1917
• 1921 - Ceiling on immigrants from individual countries
• 1930s - Great Depression
• 1941 - World War II
• 1965 - Federal Immigration and Nationality Act
• 1978 - Worldwide quota set on immigrants to the US
• 1990-2000 - Hispanic population rose 63%

Major events during the New Immigrants of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

• 1980 The Refugee Act
• 1986 The Immigration Reform and Control Act
• 1996 Increased Immigrant Population and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
• 2001 September 11th Terrorist Attacks and Anthrax Attacks
• 2001 The USA PATRIOT Act
• 2002 The No Child Left Behind Act education reform bill
• 2002 The United States Department of Homeland Security began

Second Immigration Wave - Early 1900s to 1930s

The New Immigrants - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

Colonial and Revolutionary Era - Late 1500s to late 1700s

Lots of immigrants changes last names and adopted American dress.

Adapting to the cultures around us have a lot to do with fitting in. Adults who have lived in the same area their whole lives adapt over time. We can only expect that our students will be adapting as well. Some cultures will not allow their students to dress any other way due to religious law or cultural values. Adapting to American dress seems like a natural process and most will dress with what is available around them to buy. When ELLs are around peers they want to speak their language and like alike. Adapting in nature is for survival and the same could be argued for human nature. Teaching to students about accepting others no matter what they look like is an important lesson. Being aware that some students will just want to fit in rather than stand out is just something to remember. Creating that caring atmosphere for all students, whether they want to adapt or not, is what is important.

Housing and working conditions during this time were not good. There is lots of overcrowding in cities.

Many ELLs that will be in our classrooms live in very crowding situations with many extended family members. Their parents or guardians may be working many hours in not so great conditions just to be able to provide shelter and food. As teachers, we need to understand that our students often have responsibilities far greater than school to contend with. While in school we need to be empathic to situations beyond our control and control what we can in the classroom. We should strive for each student to learn as much as possible with the use of best practices in our teaching.

WWI and lots of unemployment in the U.S.

Since our students may be coming from varying places around the globe it is important to get to know each and every one of them and their backgrounds. This helps them in knowing they have an adult that cares and someone to share with. This helps us have the ability to teach them better because it opens up the lines of communication. Our goal is to teach them English and curriculum so they can succeed in the real world as adults. Their will be times in their lives when they do not have jobs or their parents do not have jobs and knowing English in the United States could be their saving grace.

November 6, 1986, Amnesty and the Immigration Reform Act - 1980’s

The Immigration Reform Act was created to address policies and ways to seek legal immigration for a large amount of immigrants that were entering the U.S. during this time from Canada and Mexico. The Act included two amnesty programs that granted amnesty to over 3 million undocumented migrants including some seasonal workers and some established immigrants but made it illegal to hire illegal immigrants. The Immigration Reform Act acknowledged that there was an increasing need for updated policies a. However, it also made it increasingly difficult for new immigrants to find work and changed the way employers hired and dealt with immigrant workers. ELL‘s parents may move more often due to the lack of available work and high living costs. Students are not able to complete schooling in one place and have to start all over again in a new school.

September 30, 1996, Increased Immigrant Population and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act - 1990’s

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was an important event for Americans as it required immigrants that were illegal and in the U.S. for a certain period of time to obtain a pardon to remain in the country. Previously, they had to commit a crime to be deported; now there were eligible just due to the amount of time they are in the country. Select local officials were also granted authority to pursue deportation, which made it much more likely to happen. More deportations lead to fear, more frequent moves and withdrawn participation in the community, which decreases the amount of aid students receive in school. In addition to deportation issues, the immigrant population increased dramatically since the 1980’s, which meant more ELL’s students in the classroom.

2001-November 25, 2002, The Homeland Security Act of 2002 - 2000’s

”Deportees may be held in jail for months, even as much as two years, before being brought before an immigration board, at which defendants need to pay for their legal representation. In 2001, the Supreme Court curtailed the Immigration Service's ability to hold deportees indefinitely in Zadvydas v. Davis,” ("Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia," n.d.). Since the September 11th attacks in 2001, Immigration Laws have been followed much more closely as the Homeland Security Act of 2002 was enacted to prevent terrorist attacks in the U.S. This act impacted immigrants hugely in that their entrance and time spent in the U.S. was now closely monitored. Also, the American public was more aware of immigrants and became suspicious of their purpose in America. Many students that are from the Middle East, Africa or overseas were now scrutinized or ostracized due to their background. Also, immigrants populated suburbs more than cities, which mean more families and a need for education.

Colonizing America.

North America began being colonized in the late 1500s. The first colonists arrived in North America for financial reasons hoping to seek riches in untapped resources. However, later colonists arrived in search of religious freedom, political freedom and the hopes for a better life. The United States of America was founded on the notion of freedom. It has paved the way for immigrants to arrive in this country to this day. Immigrants have been arriving in the U.S. forever for many different reasons. It has given English language learners the freedom to come to the U.S. and receive all of the resources that people deserve to be given.

The first settlers in America.

The first settlers that colonized in America were a diverse group of people. The first colony was founded by settlers from Spain and second was founded by settlers from England. People came from many different countries to live together in pursuit of a common interest or goal. English language learners today are still from many different countries. While many of them are no longer from Europe, their families are still motivated by common interests and goals. The United States of America has been a meeting ground for diverse groups of people working together under a now common government and language. English language learners are responsible for learning about this government and language.

A Revolution for independence.

In 1776, the American colonies declared freedom from England. The Declaration of Independence was written on the belief that all men are created equal. The Declaration of Independence was rooted in the thought that all men deserve certain rights and should be governed by a government of their choosing. After the colonies had gained their freedom from England, they joined together to form one central government to help ensure the liberty and freedom of the people. Because of the wars fought before us, the people of the United States (including English language learners) are guaranteed all of the freedoms of a democratic society. The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were written to secure these freedoms.

1700

1800

1600

1900

2000

1500

First Immigration Wave - Mid 1800s to early 1900s

Third and Fourth Immigration Waves - 1960s and 1970s

Huge push for increase in laborers from railroads

In the late 1800s and early 1900s the railroad industry was booming. People wanted more than ever to be able to travel across the country and it took millions of workers to make this happen. The railroad businesses started shipping executives across the Atlantic to recruit workers. This movement brought several immigrants to the state. They preferred to communicate in their native language, which brought many foreign languages to the country. The restriction on Asian immigrants kept the Asian immigrant population in check, however upwards of 23 million immigrants from Europe came to the United States between 1881 and 1920 (Shirey, 2007).

1921 US Congress established a law to limit amount of immigrants from each country

The United States Congress decided that there needed to be a limit on the amount of immigrants from individual countries to even out the population. The Great Depression of the 1930s slowed immigration almost to a halt. Times were not good in the United States and people started to move away from the United States. From 1930 to 1940 only about 500,000 immigrants came to the U.S. Towards the end of the Third Wave of Immigration, the Second World War made it so the U.S. was more lenient on immigration laws and they became far less restrictive. This opened up the gates for many more immigrants to come to the United States. The restrictions on immigration have affected ELLs because it has led to a wider array of languages throughout the country. If the restrictions were not in place, there would not be as many immigrants from some of the countries.

Restrictions were lessened on immigrants coming into the country

As the restrictions were becoming looser on immigrants to the United States, the country was becoming increasingly diverse. By the year 2010, the United States was comprised of approximately 10% foreign born citizens. In addition to that, the U.S. Census Bureau approximated that there were over eight million illegal immigrants living in the United States. During this time, the Hispanic population in America rose by 63 percent (Shirey, 2007). This means that ELL students are primarily Hispanic. Schools can hire teachers that are fluent in both English and Spanish and that teacher can be extremely useful in teaching ELL students.

Most immigrants were of Eastern and Northern Europeans. There was a potato famine and the opportunity for gold in the U.S.

Our English language learners may be coming from all over the world for many different reasons. Some may be fleeing religious persecution where they are unable to have their own views and freedoms. Some may be fleeing a war torn country, so validating their safety and having a friendly classroom atmosphere is extremely important. Some may just be seeking a better life for their families. They may want their children to live the American dream. We will never know if we do not ask about our students cultures and show them a safe, caring environment. Being their for our students is so very important to them and allows them to learn English at their best in the classroom.

There was an immigration quota, policy, and anti-immigration view of people already living in the United States.

During this era there were immigration quota which closed borders for certain nationalities to enter the United States. In current times we do not uphold an immigration quota, but that does not mean that individuals do not have strong views on immigration into the United States. We do have governmental avenues people can use to become citizens of the United States, which is very helpful and if our students are born on U.S. soil they are already citizens. At times immigrants are looked down upon and people use very hurtful words to describe immigrants in our country. Remembering that life is not always easy for our students. Even getting to school for the day can be difficult. Keeping in mind their cultures and backgrounds while helping them learn English is going to help them so much. We should also be showing them the greatness of being different from others and celebrating each uniqueness in our students.

Assimilation movement in the U.S. school cultures.

While we want our students to assimilate into our local school cultures, we should also be celebrating their differences. Assimilation to our school cultures of critical thinking and growing as individuals can be a hard concept for some students because of their cultural backgrounds. It is our job to help them learn English for conversation and academics. We should be promoting not only the basics but helping them strive to be better each day and compete score-wise with native English speaking students. This is no easy job, for students or teachers, but in the end it will give great dividends.

References

Gonzalez, V., Yawkey, T. & Minaya-Rowe, L. (2006). English-as-a-second language

(ESL) teaching and learning: Pre-K-12 classroom applications for students' achievement and development. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database

Homeland Security - Immigration | Laws.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://

immigration.laws.com/homeland-security

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 - Wikipedia, the

free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and_Immigrant_Responsibility_Act_of_1996

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).

Retrieved November 2, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Reform_and_Control_Act_of_1986

Shirey, W. (2007). Immigration Waves. Immigration to the United States. Retrieved on

11/1/15 from: http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/603-immigration-waves.html

The Rise of New Immigrant Gateways | Brookings Institution. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2004/02/demographics-singer

U.S. Immigration Since 1965 - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com. (n.d.). Retrieved

from http://www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965