1790: The US Naturalization Act provided the first guidelines for the granting of US citizenship.
1798: Congress enacted the first measures to allow for the detention and deportation of noncitizens. The Alien and Sedition Acts permitted deportation of any noncitizen considered dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States or whose home country was at war with the United States. The acts, passed when the United States was on the brink of war with France, also criminalized any malicious criticism of the US government.
Comments
Imagine, if we/our elected representatives could create a form of legal residency for non-documented folks , in the form of work permits, had a legitimate e-verification system and hammered employers who hire folks that are non-documented and who are exploited by these employers, you could sure end a lot of uneccessary angst for everyone and probably cut the budgets of these burgeoning agencies significantly. It astounds me that this issue still is not resolved.