Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

half (55%), were born in Mexico. Mexicans account for 29 per cent of all foreignborn
population in the United States.
For the most part of United States history, immigration was unregulated
until the late nineteenth century. In those early days, practically anyone who
could afford the fare to cross the Atlantic was allowed to enter the country. For
instance, between 1870 and 1900, close to 12 million immigrants arrived in the
United States most for economic reasons, while many others for political and
social reasons. The vast majority of these immigrants were of European origins
(Bodnar, 1985).
The early legislative attempts at controlling the nation’s borders in the
United States were outright racial in nature, reflecting economic as well as
cultural tensions between European labourers who dominated the political
machines of the time and the newly arrivals from Asia. For example, one of the
first major restrictions on the free flow of immigration into the United States was
aimed at one specific ethnic group – the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, barring
skilled as well as non-skilled Chinese labourers from entering the country for
10 years. The Act was renewed in 1892 for another 10 years. 114 The Chinese
Exclusion Act was followed by official Government of the United States policies
to exclude or limit the number of immigrants from other Asian countries. Finally,
with the passing of the Immigration Act of 1924, the United States Congress
– while imposing quota on so-called national origins to restrict the flow of
immigration – completely excluded immigrants from Asia. It should be noted
that the Immigration Act of 1924 also included discriminatory quota restrictions
against ethnic Europeans, such as Italians, Poles and Hungarians.
As the United States tightened its control over whom it allowed to admit,
legitimate channels became either blocked or inadequate, thus giving rise to
an illegitimate marketplace where logistical services could be purchased to
evade immigration control. There is no shortage of historical stories on various
ethnic groups that sought such services to enter the United States through illegal
means. For instance, in the 1920s, many Eastern European Jews were desperate
to escape post-war economic and political turmoil. In response to US legislation
that set quotas on Jewish immigrants entering the country, many resorted to
document vendors and middlemen to acquire fraudulent identity papers for the
journey to the United States (Garland, 2008).
114
For a quick overview of the major immigration laws passed by the US Congress that affected foreign
relations, refer to the official list of these acts and official analysis at https://history.state.gov/milestones
306
12. United States