Table 13.1: Milestones in U.S. immigration policy
1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
1891
Immigration Act
1921
Emergency Quota Act
1924
Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
1952
McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act
1965
Hart-Cellar Immigration and Nationality Act
1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
1990
Immigration Act
1996
2002
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
(PRWORA)
Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Form Act
2005
Real ID Act
2007
Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA)
2012
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
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45
18%
40
16%
35
14%
30
12%
25
10%
20
8%
15
6%
10
4%
5
2%
0
0%
Year
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Foreign-born population share
Foreign-born population size (in millions)
Figure 13.1: The foreign-born population in the U.S., 1850–2010
Figure 13.2: Share of U.S. legal permanent residents by region
and decade
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1900s
1910s
Oceania
1920s
Africa
1930s
1940s
1950s
Europe and Canada
1960s
1970s
1980s
Asia
Latin America & Carribean
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1990s
2000s
Figure 13.3: Number of persons granted legal permanent
residence, 1820–2013
2,000,000
1,800,000
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1820
1840
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
Fiscal year
1960
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1980
2000
Figure 13.4: Apprehensions along the Mexico-U.S. border,
1960–2013
1,800,000
1,600,000
Apprehensions
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985 1990
Fiscal year
1995
2000
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2005
2010
Table 13.2: Preference classes and annual caps for legal
permanent resident status
Class
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried minor children and
parents)
Family-sponsored:
Annual cap
Average number,
2009–2013
None
476,673
Unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens and their minor children
Spouses, minor children and unmarried adult children of legal permanent
residents
23,400
24,656
114,200
99,619
Married children of U.S. citizens and their spouses and minor children
23,400
25,899
Siblings of U.S. citizens and their spouses and minor children
Employment-based:
Priority workers: persons with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and
researchers, and multinational managers or executives
65,000
64,565
40,040
37,105
Professionals holding advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability
40,040
56,063
Skilled workers, professionals and unskilled (or “other”) workers
Certain special immigrants (broadcaster, ministers and certain former U.S.
government employees overseas)
Immigrant investors
Other:
Diversity lottery
40,040
40,047
9,940
9,940
8,588
4,936
55,000
46,737
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Figure 13.5: Marginal costs and marginal benefits of enforcement
$
MC
MB
Enforcement
Unauthorized immigrants
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