Before There Were Borders: America's Immigration Story

Immigration – yes, the US was built on it, but the people who welcome everybody today also want to abolish Columbus. In simple terms, he came from a part of the world that was already populated; travel was simply a part of life, and people were used to each other. So did October 1492 start the day of immigration, personified by Columbus, and racism? Here's a short overview of the world before 1492. We have focused on five geographical areas of the region to represent the variety and complexity of peoples and cultures before 1492: the Caribbean, Middle America, the Andean region, the South Atlantic, and North America. In order to understand what came to be called America we are often dependent on European observations. If you want to go before 1492 America, you may consider the book " Wild New World." In 1908, near Folsom, New Mexico, a cowboy discovered the remains of a herd of extinct giant bison. By examining flint points embedded in the bones, archeologists later determined that a band of humans had killed and butchered the animals 12,450 years ago. This discovery vastly expanded America's known human history but also revealed the long-standing danger Homo sapiens presented to the continent's evolutionary richness. It is estimated that some 60 million people lived in the Americas by 1492 – so consider that Columbus might have been an intruder under those circumstances, or at least an illegal. Not sure the ICE protesters ever considered that thought. When you've traveled the Grand or Bryce Canyon, or any other of the national parks, you may realize that climate changes and climate catastrophes made all those marvels possible. That would be a stretch to connect to immigration, but it is part of what made it possible. But potentially, all people arriving in the US before the 1880s were illegals. Until the late 19th century, there wasn't any such thing as "illegal" or "legal" immigration to the United States. That's because before you can immigrate somewhere illegally, there has to be a law for you to break. And you could argue that all their children born in the US are natural citizens, as the law still exists – that includes George Washington. The main differentiator: once in the US, you had to make it on your own. There was no system in place, but lots of voices criticized the misuse and unfair treatment, as well as resented immigration for selfish reasons – in other words, exploitation. So if you are born here, you are no longer an immigrant, but a descendant.

By some statistics, between 1492 and 1820 – the great Atlantic migration – some 2.6 million Europeans migrated to America:

• Imperial extraction (Spain, Portugal)

• Indentured labor market (British, German, French) – contract for passage

• Religious dissent (Puritans, Huguenots)

• Land hunger (Europe)

Note: this period included the transportation of African slaves – some 8.8 million, in addition to the 2.6 million Europeans. So immigration laws and the immigration system have evolved , but have not solved the problem ever since the 1900s. Between the 1880s and 1890s, the federal government introduced general immigration laws for excluding and deporting foreigners of undesirable character, such as paupers, people likely to become public charges, criminals, lunatics, prostitutes, and anarchists, while developing Chinese exclusion laws. Immigrants awaiting examination, Ellis Island, ca. 1907−1921 (Library of Congress). These general laws set the groundwork for subsequent federal immigration laws and were modeled on existing state immigration laws in Massachusetts and New York. The same sentiments argued then are argued today, with the exception of slavery – if you exclude the "immigrant labor" for agriculture, slaughterhouses, and nannies.

Subsequent waves of immigration from 1820–1924, the age of mass migration ( and here ), brought Irish, Germans, Scandinavians, and Southern and Eastern Europeans – mostly to grow the economy, leaving Europe because of poverty and for political reasons.

The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) and the National Origins Quota Act (1924) marked the shift from open immigration to racialized restrictions. Sec. 14. Any alien who at any time after entering the United States is found to have been at the time of entry not entitled under this Act to enter the United States, or to have remained therein for a longer time than permitted under this Act . . . shall be taken into custody and deported in the same manner as provided for in sections 19 and 20 of the Immigration Act of 1917. Here are some recent voices reflecting on today's policy: race-based or merit-based? Or was it a reflection to maintain the "American value" system?

The era from 1960 to today, called the globalization era, saw the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act end racial quotas and open the door to the world. The new system implemented preferences which prioritized family reunification (75 percent), employment (20 percent), and refugee status (5 percent). Spouses, minor children, and parents remained no quota immigrants. Each country received the same annual cap of 20,000 and for the first time countries in the American hemisphere faced numeric caps on immigration. The major flow since has come from Latin America, Asia, Africa (since 1990), and war zones in the Middle East. However, the border has always had an "illegal" passage over land – Mexico and Canada – and deportations are nothing new. It has simply become a political and party argument, with the consequences of "more culture." And as with many things in life, define culture – it is probably better defined in terms of needs for high-skill and low-skill labor, driven both by economic interests and an outdated immigration law. Deportation always happened.