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Immigration Control In The United States

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In the United States, the issue of immigration control is an ongoing issue, especially near the US-Mexican border. Many of the polices made in the early 2000s were made under the “intention of stemming the flow of illegal immigration,” (Amuedo-Dorantes and Pozo 2014, 2255). However, these are not the only policies that affected the overall immigration control of the country. From the post-colonial era to present day, the United States has a history of making laws and policies about immigration that have either helped or harmed the ability for certain demographics to enter the country. This is true for post-colonial nation-states like Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada (Bashford 2015, 27). Considering the American Revolution, …show more content…
In 1962, the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act allowed the government to create a fund that would refugees escape from persecution or the fear of persecution. By 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act had completely abrogated the quota system and replaced it,” …with a system whereby immigrants are admitted based on their relationship to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident family member or US employer.” (Migration Policy Institute 2013, 4). This system still capped how many immigrants could be admitted to the country every year but did not put a cap on the number of close relatives of United States citizens that could enter each year. Once the Refugee Act of 1980 had established a new statutory system for the admission and processing of refugees was enacted, the United States began to increase protection around their borders, (Migration Policy Institute 2013, …show more content…
Anyone who committed a serious crime, like murder or bringing in drugs and weapons, would be put on the grounds for deportation. At the time, immigrants who were charged with an aggravated felony were given a harsh penalty that didn’t always match the intensity of the crime, (Podgorny 2009, 290). The 1990 Immigration Act expands on this, limiting the power the government has in deporting citizens yet also adding nonpolitical crimes to the list of ways an immigrant could be deported. It also made it more difficult for judges to give relief from deportation for criminals. However, changes made by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act in 1996 gave power back to the judicial system in terms of how they review immigration decisions. However, the act also toughened the procedural requirements of entry for refugees and other immigrants, (Migration Policy Institute 2013, 5-6). The acts made in 1996,” …were Congress’s response to a growing anti-immigration political movement,” (Podgorny 2009, 288). After two relief acts in 1997 and 1998, the United States continues to strengthen and militarize their

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