Here's a piece of trivia. Why weren't our forefathers considered illegal aliens?

Question

What happened in 1918 that changed terminology regarding immigration?

This goes up until 1918, don't make assumptions regarding the founding fathers.

I should have stated grandfathers, people are a bit confused.

Answer 1

Because there weren't laws here then governing the issue. This was a mass uncharted territory. People were "settling" here then because there weren't that many people here.

Lets just pretend we go to space travel. If we landed on a place (planet) where no one discovered before and we were excited about finding a form of life and "settled" there.....it wouldn't be the same 1000's of years later when the planet was full and there needed to be some control over it.

The first Indians the first settlers met when they came here were FRIENDLY. They didn't seem to mind these new people. The problems came later. Laws came later. Battles and wars were lost and won. It CHANGED. Today is different than then. We didn't have cities and plumbing and schools and states and all sorts of things. No one was concerned about world population or all the other things we are now.

Our American Indians were "illegal aliens" because they came from Asia. So far.....I don't know WHO was here naturally from jump street. I doubt you do either. From things I've read this planet used to be 1 land mass surrounded by water and a catastrophic event separated it. Wouldn't it be a kicker if white man really was the first "real", "Indigenous" people here? Or maybe the Asians? Maybe it's black and brown south of the equator and whites and asians north of it? Maybe brown north, black south and white and Asian in the middle? Who knows? Either way....what does it matter? I do know....latinos are no more indigenous to this area than I am.

Answer 2

From the time the first white settlers came to America, this country welcomed people from any country in the world. Many newcomers came from Ireland, Germany, Great Britain, and France because of poor harvests, famines, political conflicts, or revolutions. A new wave of immigration began in the late 1880's and people came from countries in southern and eastern Europe, such as Italy and Austria-Hungary. The number of newcomers was so large that many cities became overcrowded and jobs became scarce. This situation aroused antagonism, resentment and conflicts, and the need to establish some laws and regulations became evident. The "open-door" policy ended in 1882 when Congress passed the nation's first general immigration statute.

The first law that regulated immigration was the Oriental Exclusion Act which halted Chinese immigration. In 1917, Congress passed a second law that required an immigrant to prove that he could read and write at least one language. Physically handicapped immigrants and children under 16 did not have to meet this requirement.

Why because they decided to "write" immigration laws that excluded minorities like the Chinese. Before this, ALL were considered legal.

After World War I, a marked increase in racism and the growth of isolationist sentiment in the U.S. led to demands for further legislation.

Answer 3

If Americans were doing the jobs legal & illegal aliens have ALL money would have stayed in the US and benefited here. ALL workers would have paid their fair share of taxes. ID Theft, social security & tax fraud would be a lot lower Hospitals would not be closing ER's or going bankrupt because of unpaid services that were provided to illegals. States would collect a larger portion of property tax as 1 person would rent a 1 bdrm apt instead of 5, and 1 family per home instead of 2 or 3 families per home. People would not be accessing welfare using fake or stolen social security numbers leaving those benefits for Americans. The cost of public safety would go way down. The cost of incarceration would go way down. Americans would patronize American businesses and use services provided by AMericans. Illegals patronize the businesses of their countrymen. We wouldn't be forced to pay an additional $365 per student for ESL classes. The quality of our children's education would improve We wouldn't have people who are here illegally demanding in-state tuition or the Dream Act.

Answer 4

The 1918 immigrations act, also known as the red scare aliens, we were fearful of communism

Answer 5

Ifyou are referring to the Pilgrims coming over here in 1620, then take it back even further? How about the Vikings in Greenland and Nova Scotia around 1000 AD? Or all the way back to the human migration out of Africa 100,000 years ago? Were they illegal aliens too? You have to illegally enter an existing sovereign state with laws. Your question is silly and compares apples to oranges.

Answer 6

Depends on what the Indian Nation immigration policy read like.

Answer 7

Passports were then needed to get in the USA per a law which was created stating this.

Doesn't change the laws that are on the books NOW though does it?

Answer 8

Maybe because there wasn't a law against immigration in 1776. At that point they were trying to get anybody to move here.

Answer 9

Most were not illegal, they came in through Ellis Island, and were processed there. If they were sick, or had any disease, they had to go back to their original country. Each one was examined by a doctor before being processed into the US. That is the way my ancestors got here! All except one, and he was already here, he was a cherokee.

Answer 10

The Injuns had no immigration laws.