History of Illegal Immigration

To fully understand the issue that America is facing right now I feel that it is important to look at the history of illegal immigration into this country.  Illegal immigration dates back to the late nineteenth century when the U.S. banned convicts and prostitutes from entering the country.  This then lead to the banning of Chinese immigrants and the mentally ill from entering.  Ellis Island became the main immigration station.  Here they processed most of the immigrants seeking refuge in America.  By the time Ellis Island was shut down in 1954, it had processed over 12 million immigrants.  The part I want to talk about is the history of Mexican illegal immigration into this country.  Mexican immigration into this country started in the 1920’s.  Many employers desired these immigrants for cheap labor, just like in today’s world.  The government at this time was focused more on maintaining the immigration procedures for immigrants coming from Europe and overseas, allowing Mexican immigrants to pour into the country.  When the Great Depression hit there was a severe decrease in immigrants from Mexico, approximately 500,000 to 100,000 immigrants left the country.  This was a combination of deportation and the severe drop in employment opportunities. 

            To help fight against the growing increase in immigration the U.S. established the border patrol sector of El Paso in 1924.  These men and women were responsible for protecting the Texas-Mexican border.  As many know today this organization is still in existence and is the main line of defense against illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border.

            In 1942 the U.S. signed the Bracero Treaty, which allowed for Mexican immigrants to come over and help with the increase for the demand of labor due to the war in Europe and Japan.  This not only brought legal immigrant workers to America, but also brought many illegal ones too.  These immigrants were only supposed to be hired if there were not enough American workers but employers preferred the cheap work of the immigrants instead.

            In 1954 “Operation Wetback” was launched under president Eisenhower which cause illegal immigration to drop by 95% by the end of the 1950’s.  This would not last however after the Immigration Act of 1965, which allowed for an increase in legal immigration, which cause an increase in illegal immigration as well.  Ever since then there has always been a large number of illegal immigrants in our country and if we do not do something about it, it will only get worse.

            For a more detailed history on illegal immigration you can visit this site.