The Impact of the Quota-Based Immigration System on the US
Patricia Tanona
International Economics
Final Term Paper
The United States’ quota based immigration system weakens the country’s ability to sustain its position in the increasingly competitive global economy. Although the United States has a substantial flexible labor market, huge international corporations and some of the best universities in the world, it faces great competition in the global labor market. With the increasing economic opportunities available in industrialized countries and the continually expanding economies of India and China the US needs to update its immigration policies to remain strong globally.
Immigration in the United States has been an assortment of changing policies in an attempt to accommodate the endless people seeking temporary or permanent residence in the U.S. Below is a summary highlighting these policy changes.
1819-The Steerage Act of 1819 established the official collection of immigrant data and was the first Federal law to distinguish permanent immigrants from alien visitors not intending to stay in the United States.
1855-The Passenger Act of 1855 required that there be separate reporting of the number of permanent and temporary entrants.
1864-The Act to Encourage Immigration Law was passed. It is also known as the Contract Labor Law. It required employees to reimburse their employers for transportation costs. The workers were indentured and received no pay during their repayment period.
1868-The National Labor Union (NLU) successfully repealed government support for the Contract Labor Law but private employers still were allowed to use indentured labor.
1885 Indentured Servitude was outlawed when the Alien Contract Act of 1885 was passed to prohibit the importation of aliens under contract for the performance of labor or services of any kind.
1907-The Immigration Act of 1907 required aliens to declare intention of permanent or temporary stay in the United States and officially classified arriving aliens
International Economics
Final Term Paper
The United States’ quota based immigration system weakens the country’s ability to sustain its position in the increasingly competitive global economy. Although the United States has a substantial flexible labor market, huge international corporations and some of the best universities in the world, it faces great competition in the global labor market. With the increasing economic opportunities available in industrialized countries and the continually expanding economies of India and China the US needs to update its immigration policies to remain strong globally.
Immigration in the United States has been an assortment of changing policies in an attempt to accommodate the endless people seeking temporary or permanent residence in the U.S. Below is a summary highlighting these policy changes.
1819-The Steerage Act of 1819 established the official collection of immigrant data and was the first Federal law to distinguish permanent immigrants from alien visitors not intending to stay in the United States.
1855-The Passenger Act of 1855 required that there be separate reporting of the number of permanent and temporary entrants.
1864-The Act to Encourage Immigration Law was passed. It is also known as the Contract Labor Law. It required employees to reimburse their employers for transportation costs. The workers were indentured and received no pay during their repayment period.
1868-The National Labor Union (NLU) successfully repealed government support for the Contract Labor Law but private employers still were allowed to use indentured labor.
1885 Indentured Servitude was outlawed when the Alien Contract Act of 1885 was passed to prohibit the importation of aliens under contract for the performance of labor or services of any kind.
1907-The Immigration Act of 1907 required aliens to declare intention of permanent or temporary stay in the United States and officially classified arriving aliens
References: http://www.immi.gov.au/ Commission of the European Communities, Report on the Functioning of the Transitional Arrangements Set Out in the 2003 Accession Treaty (period 1 May 2004-30 April 2006) http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/news/2006/feb/report_en.pdf The Economist, The Search for Talent, Why It’s Getting Harder to Find (Economist Special Report, October 7, 2006) New York Times, New Data Shows Immigrants’ Growth and Reach. (New York Times, August 15, 2006. Rick Lyman) National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 (Volume 2) Business Week, “Give Me Your Diligent, Your Smart,” (Business Week, May 1, 2006; Spencer E. Ante)