Since there is an established case that immigration policies should never resign under the Federal Government, let us look at how the states gave up their right to control their own borders by looking at the history of Naturalization and Immigration policies. The Naturalization Act of 1790- After the Constitution was ratified; the first Congress constructed the first naturalization rules. It states that “any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen" if "he is a person of good character." Once again, this Act only dealt with Alien’s who have RESIDED WITHIN THE LIMITS of the United States. The first Congress didn’t concern themselves with how they came to the states. They only concerned themselves with how they would become citizens once they resided here. Later, Congress extended the stay to 5 years for an Alien within one state in 1795.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848- Gives US control over Texas, California, and the southwestern states; allows the more than 100,000 people living there who identify as Mexicans the option of choosing US citizenship (Article 9); the more than 200,000 Native Americans in the territory are described as members of "savage tribes...under the exclusive control of the government of the United States" (Article 11). Many consider this the first actual federal immigration policy but I think it proves again that the Federal Government only concerned themselves with Naturalization. These were not people wishing to come across the borders and enter into the US. The border actually crossed them and the United States came up with the naturalized process to make them US citizens.
The Naturalization Act of 1870- Extends naturalization law to cover "aliens of African nativity and persons of African descent"; Asians and other people of color are not mentioned and so remain excluded from naturalization under the 1790 and 1795 laws.
California Exclusionary Act (1784)- In the 1870s, anti-Chinese sentiment began to flourish in California, leading the California legislature in 1874 to pass an immigration law requiring that steamships post a $500 bond for the landing of any “lewd or debauched woman.” While the statute spoke generally, it aimed particularly to prevent the immigration of Chinese prostitutes, and the state commissioner of immigration refused to land twenty-two Chinese women whom he believed to be “lewd or debauched.” In In re Ah Fong, the California Supreme Court upheld the law as a valid exercise of the state’s “police power” to protect public safety and order, but Justice Field in the U.S. circuit court for California found the law unconstitutional. He held that Congress, not the states, had authority to regulate commerce between the United States and other nations, and that authority extended to immigration. The court’s decision transferred the power to regulate immigration from the States to the Federal Government.
Immigration Act of 1875 (Page Act of 1875) - This was the first official Immigration law by the federal government. The gold rush in the west brought on an influx of Chinese immigrants to California looking for riches and political freedom. Unfortunately, their arrival brought many Americans to resent these new arrivals. The American rhetoric spewed out that the Chinese people were coming here to bring their life of drugs, prostitution, and anti-family culture to American and laws needed to be in place to make sure these “coolies” didn’t spread their dangerous lifestyle inside the American culture. Other Americans resented the fact that the Chinese were stealing American jobs by working at lower wages. Still others hated the fact that Chinese people gathered together in large numbers under one roof where disease and un-holy activities spread. The resentment grew so high that Congress finally stepped over their Constitutional authority and passed the Page Act.
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882- Excludes all Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States for 10 years. It is renewed in 1892 for another 10 years, and in 1902 it is renewed without a time limit.
Chy Lung v Freeman 1875 (Supreme Court) - The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 established a system of identification to help the collector of customs decide which Chinese qualified for the exemptions specified in the act. According to the statute, Chinese laborers already residing in the United States had to obtain “return certificates” from the collector of customs before leaving the United States for travel. Chew Heong had left before the act was passed and thus could not have obtained a certificate to prove his right of reentry in the United States. The Supreme Court’s opinion stressed the importance of the 1880 treaty with China that clearly protected the right of Chew Heong and other resident laborers to come and go at will. Sawyer pointed out that the Chinese Exclusion Acts of 1882 and 1884 explicitly stated their purpose was to fulfill the treaty, not to abrogate it. Emphasizing that the honor of the nation was at stake, the Court argued that the statute should be construed, if at all possible, to conform to the treaty unless Congress explicitly declared its intention to negate the treaty. Since no such intent was evident, The Court believed that Chew Heong should be allowed to present other evidence to establish his prior residency.
These two court cases established several issues concerning immigration today:
1. Congress was fully responsible for all immigration policy
2. The Commerce Clause gives full responsibility of immigration to Congress
3. Immigration policy was an extension of foreign policy thus falling under the authority of Congress
4. All immigration laws must conform with treaties with nations
how many parts will there be?
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