Illegal Immigration as a Tool for Terrorists - Thesis Example

In 1891, the US Congress established Immigration Service (“History of Immigration Law in the USA”) and started implementing immigration laws. Early immigration laws were designed to control the US population structure. For example, the 1790 Naturalization Act limited European and Caucasian descendent immigration, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act made immigration from China illegal. Likewise, ethnicity, the government was also worried about the moral composition of the US population. Congress, between 1872-1890 passed laws constraining the immigration of several groups that included prostitutes, criminals, mentally ill, and financially unstable individuals.

In the late 19th century, the government became concerned about native laborers. In 1885 and 1887, Congress passed the first laws restricting immigration based on economic reasons. Congress from 1900 to 1921 instituted a “quota system” guaranteeing permission to a set number of individuals from each ethnic group. In 1924, Congress established the first branch of border control to monitor immigration from Canada and Mexico (“History of Immigration Law in the USA”). In 1952, Congress passed the McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act, which opened immigration to people from any nation (“History of Immigration Law in the USA”).

In 1965, Congress abandoned the quota system and employed a new system that allowed entrance for labor, family unification and political asylum. The new system restricted immigration largely from Mexico, Central and South America, which developed an increase in illegal immigration. During the 1980s, illegal immigration and border security became key concerns of the immigration debate. In 1986, Congress granted additional powers to law enforcement agencies, which allowed the punishment of persons who helped or facilitated illegal immigration (“History of Immigration Law in the USA”).

US Congress, in 1996, administrated new laws relating to the immigration from Latin America that permitted doubling the number of border control authorities, as well as adding fences in areas with heavy traffic and increased penalties for harboring or aiding illegal immigrants.