History of US Immigration Laws

History of US Immigration Laws The first law that dealt with how someone attained citizenship was the Naturalization Act of 1790.  This act created a standard way on how naturalization and residency issues were to be handled for new citizenship candidates.  This new law required that applicants to live in the United States for at least two years and in their state of residence for one year before they could apply for citizenship.   The first attempt by the U.S. government to bar or limit immigration from certain countries was the Chinese exclusion law.  This law barred immigration of Chinese an also individuals â€Å"convicted of political offenses, lunatics, idiots, and persons likely to become public charges. The U.S. government needed a department that could handle all issues dealing with immigration and in 1891, the Bureau of Immigration was established under the Treasury Department where they managed all immigration laws. In 1906, the newly created Bureau of Immigration added â€Å"knowledge of English† as a requirement for naturalization. As time passed, additional restrictions were placed on immigrants coming to America. There were medical conditions such as mental and physical defects.      In the early 1920’s, we saw the first inclusion of numeric limits. The immigration law set annual quotas based on the nationality of the immigrants. During this same period, the quota system was enacted which worked like the numeric limits by limiting immigrants based on their country of origin. The quota law also established the Border Patrol. In 1948, the refugee provision was enacted to admit individuals fleeing persecution to enter the U.S. and during the first two years of this act, 205,000 refugees were admitted to the U.S.  Although the U.S. was creating provisions to allow certain individuals into the country, they also enacted exclusions and deportations laws to remove communist subversives.     In 1952, the immigration system went through major changes.  The Immigration and Nationality Act created and it confirmed the quota system, restricted the amount of immigrants coming from the Eastern Hemisphere and leaving the Western Hemisphere without restrictions.  It also created preferences for skilled workers and placed tighter screening and security procedures. The next big change to the immigration system came in 1965 when the Immigration and Nationality Act was created.  This act eliminated the quota systems, but kept restrictions on how Many people could immigrate to the U.S. from certain parts of the world. Under President Ronald Reagan, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was established to legalize aliens who were unlawfully in the U.S. since January 1, 1982.  It also created penalties for employers who hired illegal aliens and created an immigration classification for agricultural workers.  Lastly, if created a visa waiver program to admit nonimmigrants without visas. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Homeland Security Act was created and this newly created department would be responsible for immigration adjudication and enforcement.  And in 2005, the Real ID Act was established to standardize the way state driver’s and documents dealing with identity are issued. The main reason for this new Act deals with restricting terrorist from illegally obtaining governmental identification. The United States was formed by immigrants who came here looking for a better way of life. The first immigrants came to America over 12,000 years ago. These immigrants were indigenous people who crossed over the ice bridge between Asia and America. The French and Spanish made their way over and established camps in the 15th century. The reason for migration to America was for economic opportunity. Coming to America brought the potential of cheap land and in addition to this, many farmers, craftsmen, fishermen all found work in this new land. â€Å"Independence of resources (the colonies produced nearly everything they needed) and trade among the colonies and with the indigenous peoples led to prosperity.† Religious groups such as the Quakers, Pilgrims, Protestants came to America to get away from the persecution in Europe. They were able to setup their religious camps without the fear of government intrusion.  They could practice and live according to their religious beliefs which was not possible in Europe. With the large number of faiths now found in the U.S., we can attribute this to the early immigrants. Slavery was another way of immigration, although inhumane, this was part of America’s history. Many landowners did not have enough labor to work their fields and they turned to the â€Å"Transatlantic Slave Trade† to brings slaves over to work their fields. This trade route brought a constant flow of slaves to America and did not stop for many decades. If we go back to 1790 to look at the Naturalization Act, President George Washington wanted to limit naturalization to white people of â€Å"good moral character†. I can only assume that a slave owner would be able to acquired their naturalization in America.  If you were an African (slave) or indigenous person you would have been barred from becoming a U.S. citizen. In the 1880’s, due to new technological advances, immigration increase due to steam ocean lines making the crossing easier and cheaper. The new technology in the Industrial Revolution created a surplus of labor which helped with the migration to America. Many Italians, Greeks and Eastern Europeans made the voyage to America looking for labor. This group of immigrants made up the majority of people migrating between 1880 and 1930. Now if we look at present day immigration issues, we will see that Donald Trump has created an executive order that bans travelers coming from â€Å"seven Muslim majority countries†.  These immigration plans Mr. Trump wants to put in action are way more restrictive than what of presidents have done.  Some see these actions by the president similar to what happened in the early 20th century when numerous laws were passed to reduce the number of immigrants. The immigrants of that time had a saying â€Å"America beckons, but Americans repel.† What they meant by that is that, on the one hand, the United States had tremendous employment opportunities for them, possibilities of education for their children, freedom of religion, political freedoms that they couldn’t enjoy in their home countries. And yet at the same time, the foreign-born represented a threat to some parts of the population.† Over the decades, these has always been restrictions placed on immigration and American citizens have been told that it was done in the name of national security and to protect our economy. Donald Trump used these same arguments during his run for the presidency.   We can now take a look at some facts about legal and illegal immigration into the United States.  There has been a significant decline in the number of undocumented Mexicans coming to the United States. There are more Mexicans returning to their home than those entering. This change is due to border enforcement, weak housing construction market, and increase number of deportations.  Some lawmakers have advocated a â€Å"self-deportation† policy. This policy does not have any effect of illegals living in the country because they have been in the United States for decades and have family with children and will not uproot and move to a worse situation.  If an undocumented immigrant finds himself in an unfriendly state, they would relocate to a friendlier state. The Center for American Progress believes that the United States could increase their gross domestic product by $1.5 trillion over 10 years if immigration reform would be done in Congress to address the large number of undocumented immigrants living here. In addition, the state and local taxes could be close to $11.2 billion in one fiscal year.  In June 2012, Barack Obama announced the DREAM Act which would let young undocumented aliens apply for deferred action, which would provide them with protection from deportation and giving them the authorization to work legally.  The Yale Law Journal stated, â€Å"Presidential policymaking has always provoked political controversy, at least as much because of deep ideological disagreements over immigration policy as because of the perception it creates of an aggressive or boundless Executive.†Ã‚   The Secure Communities Program was strongly enforced and it led to the deportation of over 1 million people.  The program worked with county jails to check the immigration status of all individuals brought into the county jails.  These are some states that do not want to participate because they believe â€Å"the program interferes with local policing priorities and inevitably leads to racial profiling.† References https://fairus.org/legislation/reports-and-analysis/history-of-us-immigration-laws https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/donald-trump-immigration/517119/ The Facts on Immigration Today https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-president-and-immigration-law-redux https://fairus.org/legislation/reports-and-analysis/history-of-us-immigration-laws https://www.sutori.com/story/a-history-of-immigration-in-the-usa>https://www.sutori.com/story/a-history-of-immigration-in-the-usa

The Character of Mrs. Sommers in Chopin’s A Pair of Silk Stockings Essa

The Character of Mrs. Sommers in Chopin’s A Pair of Silk Stockings  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The attempt to escaping reality proves to be a timeless act in "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin. The wishful Mrs. Sommers surprisingly finds herself with a sum of money unusually large for her circumstances and in her relishing and spending it reveals herself to be truly a woman of good intentions but who is weak for the intensity of the moment. Chopin has developed a character in Mrs. Sommers who plays out the fantasy of all people, rich or poor: to be someone they are not and for a day live someone else's life. Mrs. Sommers demonstrates characteristics of a prized knight such as chivalry and frugality yet confirms her mere humanity by indulging herself in the world's material pleasures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mrs. Sommers is a diligent homemaker who is chivalrous to her children's needs. When coming upon this grand sum of money and contemplating how to use the funds, her first thoughts are of her children's needs and not her own. Her mind wonders not to ways she may spoil herself but rather to ways in which she could improve her children's belongings creating for them a better life than for herself. "The vision of her little brood looking fresh and dainty and new for once in their lives excited her" (194). Chopin brings Mrs. Sommers pure intentions into clear view and with this snippet of information about her lets the reader realize that Mrs. Sommers has her priorities in line and bears a humble heart. Also in telling of Mrs. Sommers desires for her children, Chopin makes known of this mother's hard working attitude toward her position in life. As Mrs. Sommers considers the new apparel she may buy her family, she thinks over the duties that fil... ...rment. In this way Mrs. Sommers characterizes all women in that she appreciates the simple material pleasures, and through her, the reader can have an insight into the souls of women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The characteristics displayed in Mrs. Sommers are those of a valiant woman who simply needs a lapse from the usual happenings of her life. She displays qualities of an ideal mother in that she puts her children before herself, the ideal wife because she is prudent with money, and she attempts the ideal fantasy - to escape reality. Her standards are high but reachable. Mrs. Sommers is an identifiable mannerism to any woman. Kate Chopin created a magnificent female character in Mrs. Sommers, which gives hope to women and maybe a little clarification to men. Works Cited Chopin, Kate.   The Awakening and Selected Stories.   New York: Viking Penguin/Penguin, 1984. 262-66.

Mental Retardation and Child Abuse

Sling Blade is a film about a mentally retarded individual by the name of Karl, who murders his mother and her lover – Karl’s classmate – at the age of twelve.   Subsequently, Karl is institutionalized.   Upon release, Karl returns to his hometown where he befriends a young boy, Frank.   The boy’s father had committed suicide, and his mother is dating Doyle, who abuses both Frank and his mother.   Eventually, Karl is responsible for the murder of Doyle as well, as he must put an end to the abuse that he is witnessing in the lives of Frank and his mother. The story of the film is atypical seeing that Karl is a mentally retarded individual who takes action against child abuse.   Scientific research, on the other hand, has revealed that it is usually the mentally retarded individual who must suffer abuse simply because he cannot take care of himself. As an example, Morse, Sahler, and Friedman studied twenty five children who had been abused, out of which forty two percent were mentally retarded.   All except one of the mentally retarded children in the study had already been diagnosed as mentally retarded before they were abused.   Hence, it is obvious that the abusers knew that the mentally retarded children are vulnerable to abuse. According to Morse, Sahler, and Friedman, people who spend time with mentally retarded children are usually aware that these children are not always able to physically or verbally defend themselves.   Moreover, these children are not always able to describe their abuse to others.   Typically, they are also unable to differentiate between proper and improper verbal communication and/or physical contact, regardless of whether the physical contact is sexual or violent in nature. Lastly, mentally retarded children are truly dependent on other people for all manners of assistance.   This makes them more trusting toward their caretakers as well as others.   Also according to the authors, passivity as well as compliance stem from the trust and dependency of the mentally retarded child.   Those who abuse mentally retarded children are, therefore, taking undue advantage of the trust shown by these children. Sandgrund, Gaines, and Green have also conducted a study on children.   Out of one hundred and twenty children studied by the authors, sixty had been abused, thirty had been neglected, and another thirty had not been abused at all.   The authors reported that twenty five percent of the abused children in their study had been diagnosed as mentally retarded. Twenty percent of the neglected children had similarly been recognized as mentally retarded, while only three percent of the children who had never been abused were mentally retarded.   The findings of this study reveal that mentally retarded children are quite likely to be abused.   The fact that Karl of Sling Blade was never abused – rather, he had the intelligence to differentiate between proper and improper verbal communication and/or physical contact – shows that the film is about an unusual mentally retarded individual.   Sandgrund, Gaines, and Green write that mentally retarded children are normally hesitant to report instances of abuse because they fear losing the essential relationships with their caretakers. Furthermore, these children are not always believed if they manage to report abuse.   Seeing that Karl was not afraid to lose his caretaker at the time he killed his mother reveals that this mentally retarded child was definitely not a typical one. McFadden has also written about the abuse of mentally ill children, including those who are mentally retarded.   Reporting a study conducted by the New York State Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled, McFadden writes that abuse in institutions for mentally retarded children is higher than abuse in institutions for children who are mentally fit.   Also according to the author: In analyzing those cases, the commission found that abuse most often occurred in leisure-  time areas, such as recreation rooms and sleeping quarters, where children congregate without  structured activities.   It also found that boys over 12 years of age and children who exhibited  disturbing conduct were at the highest risk of abuse. In 16 percent of the cases, the study said, a finding of abuse or neglect was made by the  reporting facility.   In another 18 percent, the facility found misconduct by an employee but no  evidence of abuse.   In 66 percent, some corrective action was taken and in nearly 20 percent  disciplinary action was taken against at least one employee. Most of those responsible for the abuse or neglect were not new employees.   The study said  80 percent of them had worked at the facility at least one year and 50 percent had been  employed more than three years (McFadden). Karl was fortunate because his mother did not abuse him.   He was not abused in an institution either.   All the same, research evidence suggests that mentally retarded children are highly vulnerable to abuse.   In unusual cases, perhaps mentally retarded individuals like Karl may be able to struggle against child abuse.   Then again, they might have to take drastic actions such as those of Karl in order to end child abuse.   After all, mentally retarded individuals are not considered credible if they simply manage to report abuse. Works Cited McFadden, Robert D. â€Å"Child Abuse High in New York Mental Centers.† New York Times. 1 Dec 1987. 17 Nov 2007. . Morse, C.W., O.Z. Sahler, and S.B. Friedman. â€Å"A Three-Year Follow-Up Study of Abused and Neglected Children.† American Journal of Diseases of Children. Vol. 120 (1970): pp. 439-446. Sandgrund, H., R. Gaines, and A. Green. â€Å"Child Abuse and Mental Retardation: A Problem of Cause and Effect.† American Journal of Mental Deficiency. Vol. 79 (1974): pp. 327-330. Sling Blade. Dir. Billy Bob Thorton. 1996.            

Compare the first three scenes of Hamlet and Twelfth Night

â€Å"Hamlet† and â€Å"Twelfth Night† are two Shakespeare plays of complete opposites. Due to one being written as a tragedy, and the other as a comedy, many comparisons can be drawn between the two plays, on themes and motifs that develop throughout the plays. One of the themes that is easily recognisable in the early stages of both plays, is that of deceit and disguise. In â€Å"Hamlet†, we learn early on that Hamlet decides to act as a madman in order to try and weed out a confession from his uncle about the murder of his father. Although he does not actually reveal to any other characters his plan until Act 1 Scene 5, when he tells Horatio that he plans to â€Å"put an antic disposition on†, the audience can recognise very early that Hamlet is going to†¦show more content†¦This confusion is a key element of a Shakespeare comedy, and reflects the Dionysian interpretation of life. â€Å"Hamlet† and â€Å"Twelfth Night† are two Shakespeare plays of complete opposites. Due to one being written as a tragedy, and the other as a comedy, many comparisons can be drawn between the two plays, on themes and motifs that develop throughout the plays. One of the themes that is easily recognisable in the early stages of both plays, is that of deceit and disguise. In â€Å"Hamlet†, we learn early on that Hamlet decides to act as a madman in order to try and weed out a confession from his uncle about the murder of his father. Although he does not actually reveal to any other characters his plan until Act 1 Scene 5, when he tells Horatio that he plans to â€Å"put an antic disposition on†, the audience can recognise very early that Hamlet is going to show some kind of deceptive characteristics in order to execute his plan. In â€Å"Twelfth Night†, disguise is a key theme in order for the play to take shape. Within the first three scenes, we have several examples of characters deliberately deceiving others in order to achieve a selfish goal. An example of this is seen through Viola’s decision to disguise herself as a eunuch in order to find favour with the duke. The decision by Shakespeare to now portray Viola as a man, creates confusion amongst the audience inShow MoreRelated Comparing the Love of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and the Bible4838 Words   |  20 PagesPrologue, 6) By contrast, in Twelfth Night the characters are so fickle that they switch love interests in the span of a few lines. By comparing the true love of Romeo and Juliet with the shallow love of Twelfth Night, it becomes clear that Shakespeare agrees with the Biblical assessment of love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is necessary, of course, to begin by explaining what the Biblical evaluation of love is. Of all the references to love in the Bible, and there are many, three sources apply best to thisRead MoreEssay on Biography of William Shakespeare2736 Words   |  11 PagesBiography of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564. He was baptized on April 24, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He was the third of eight children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, three of whom died in childhood. John was a well-known merchant and Mary was the daughter of a Roman Catholic member of the gentry, or high social position. The house where Shakespeare spent his childhood stood adjacent to he wool shop in which his father plied a successfulRead More William Faulkners Use of Shakespeare Essay5388 Words   |  22 PagesBergson, and Cervantes, to name only a few--but the one writer that he consistently mentioned as a constant and continuing influence was William Shakespeare. Though Faulkner’s claim as a fledgling writer in 1921 that â€Å"[he] could write a play like Hamlet if [he] wanted to† (FAB 330) may be dismissed as an act of youthful posturing, the statement serves to indicate that from the beginning Shakespeare was the standard by which Faulkner would judge his own creativity. In later years Faulkner frequentlyRead MoreA Picatrix Miscellany52019 Words   |  209 PagesTalismans Picatrix Astrological Magic Aphorisms Extracts on Planetary Ritual Clothing Twenty Two Benefic Astrological Talismans Astrology, Magical Talismans and the Mansions of the Moon Ritual of Jupiter An Astrological Election of Mercury in the First Face of Virgo for Wealth and Growth XIV. Invocation of Mercury On the Decans and Tarot XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. A Brief History of Tarot The Decans in Astrology Overview of Recent Tarot Works That Reference the Picatrix Magical Uses of the Tarot Colophon