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IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION.   Term Paper ID:26346 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Impact of laws on selection of immigrants. Treaties, history, migration patterns, employment, nationality, gender, social impact. Tables.... More...

27 Pages / 6075 Words 24 sources, 37 Citations, MLA Format $100.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Impact of laws on selection of immigrants. Treaties, history, migration patterns, employment, nationality, gender, social impact. Tables. Paper Introduction: IMPACT OF RECENT IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION ON THE SELECTION OF ENTRANTS TO US Introduction This research examines the effects of recent immigration legislation in the United States on the selection of entrants into the country both as immigrants and as nonimmigrants. The term “immigrant” refers all aliens except an alien who is classified within one of the classes of nonimmigrant aliens specified in the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA). The lengthy list of classes of nonimmigrant aliens covers aliens who intend to be temporary residents of the United States and includes people from ambassadors to tourists and everyone between these extremes. The focus on nonimmigrants in this research is on those aliens who enter the United States for the pu Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Economic migration refers to movement by people in the hope ofimproving their economic positions (Czempiel and Rosenau 5). "Nationalism and Anti-Immigrant Movements." Society, 33 (January- February 1996), 58-63.Martin, P. "California was a white man'ssociety, and it wanted to stay that way. "Provisions of the Immigration Act of 199 ." (1998): 1-2. There is no IWW in the late-199 s to reach out to the unwantedimmigrants. Relevant Recent Immigration Legislation As stated in the introductory discussion of this examination, a totalof 142 immigration-specific acts or acts with immigration-specific articleswere enacted at the federal level in the United States from 26 March 179 through 3 September 1996 (United States Immigration & NaturalizationService 1-4). President Taft did not think thatCalifornia's racial purity was compensation enough for antagonizing theJapanese, so he vetoed the bill." Undeterred, and under pressure fromracist voters in California, Congress passed a more exclusionaryimmigration bill in 1916, but President Wilson vetoed it for the sameforeign policy reason as had President Taft. Discussion and Conclusion Some analysts contend that the shift in immigration in the UnitedStates away from a Eurocentric dominance was not anticipated when theimmigration reform legislation was enacted in 1965. In fiscal year 1994, as an example, 33,559 immigrantswere admitted on employment-based preferences from the people's Republic ofChina, while only 17,12 were admitted from all countries in Europe (UnitedStates Immigration & Naturalization Service Table 6, 1994). "Legislative History." (1999): 1-4. The caps on entrants from individual countries and familialpreferences, however, tend to provide advantages as would-be immigrants topersons residing in Western Hemisphere countries and in some Asiancountries, as opposed to persons residing in European countries. As examples, Patrick Buchanan andDavid Duke, both contenders for the Republican presidential nomination atone time or another, have conducted campaigns that emphasized thepreservation of the Eurocentric character of American culture. |68.6 |7 .2 | Source: U.S. Review of Historical Precedents and Outcomes Relative to the Impact of Immigration Legislation on the Selection of Entrants into the United States Large-scale non-European migration to the United States was madepossible by the Immigration Act of 1965. People claim to be political refugees because they are awarethat such claims are viewed sympathetically by the populations in thedeveloped countries that are their migration targets. Such a contention isdifficult to accept when one considers that the framers of this legislationdrafted the provisions of the act that awards top preference to familialrelationships, which exempts "immediate relatives" [spouses and children]from the numerical quota caps applicable to national groups, and whichawards the next highest preference to other family members [whose entry issubject to from the numerical quota caps applicable to national groups].These three provisions have accounted for the dramatic shift in thecomposition of immigration to the United States since 1965, and it borderson the absurd to contend that the proponents of the 1965 immigration reformlegislation had no clue as to the potential outcome of these provisions.What is more easily accepted is that the proponents of the legislation saidthat the 1965 legislation would not alter the Eurocentric character ofimmigration to the United States as a ploy to diffuse opposition to thelegislation. Withrespect to non-immigrant entry for the purpose of working in the UnitedStates, however, the combination of employment preferences and the non-listing of EU member countries, Norway, Switzerland, and Russia creates asignificant for the residents of such countries to be selected for entry asnon-immigrants to the United States for purposes of employment. In effect, the five years of deliberationsthat preceded this legislation determined that ethno-cultural andphenotypical continuity in California were more important to nationalinterest than were affronts to the Japanese Empire. Washington: Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 1997.Light, I. There is no record of Japanese immigration to the United States priorto 1861 (Daniels 427-441). The seven-categorypreference system introduced in 1965, however, eliminated the preferencesfor European countries, placing the preference instead on immigrantrelationship with American citizens, occupational skills, and refugeestatus. The most publicized provisions ofthis Act were those designed to legalize the status of illegal aliens whohad been in the United States for years and to provide severe penalties foremployers for hiring or recruiting illegal aliens. In the contemporary immigration wave, very little repatriation hasoccurred. At that time, a high proportion of Japanese womenbegan immigrating to the United States, most of whom for a period of 1 years were the brides of American soldiers (Takaki 417). Thus, based on that estimate, approximatelyfive million persons immigrated illegally from Mexico to the United Statesduring the 1965-1992 period-some 3 odd percent more than the number oflegal immigrants from Mexico to the United States. Late in the nineteenth century, the United States legislated theChinese Exclusion Act to close American doors to Chinese coolie labor andprotect American workers from the so-called "Yellow Peril" (Hedges 494).With the exclusion of Chinese immigrants, American businesses turned toJapan for "a much-needed and, at that time, very welcome labour supply"(Hedges 495). Internal migration refers to themovements of large numbers of people from region to region withinestablished national political borders (Martin 56). Migration: Politics and Economic Impacts." Challenge 3 (March-April 1995): 56-62.Saunders, N. The second group of listings includes designatedcountries for which the preferred occupations and skills are considered tobe in critical demand within the economies of those countries. Employment-based preferences are relevant to the focus of this currentstudy in relation to both immigrants and nonimmigrant classifications ofentrants into the United States. A legislative act that isnearly 34 years old might not seem to qualify as "recent legislation";however, the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 3 October 1965has had a greater impact on changes in the selection of entrants into thecountry than has any other single legislative act, as it was thislegislation that broke the Eurocentric focus of immigration in the UnitedStates. The United States traditionally has been viewed as a sort of Mecca forpeople desiring to relocate from their home countries. Importantly, however, this globalceiling did not apply to nonimmigrant entry into the United States.Amendments to immigration legislation in 198 abolished the preference forrefugees ("History of Immigration Legislation" 2). ins.usdoj.gov/textonly/stats/annual/fy94/721.htmlUnited States Information Agency. |5 .4 |45.8 |47.3 |35.3 |53.8 || | | | | | | ||Male | | | | | | ||1994 |43.4 |51.2 |53.7 |5 .4 |31.7 |46.1 ||1995 |43. While these immigrantstended to be rejected by the American Federation of Labor (AFL), they weresought out by the International workers of the World (IWW). Immigration intothe United States has often occurred in waves. http:www.ins.usdoj.gov/textonly/stats/annual/fy94/722.htmlUnited States Immigration & Naturalization Service. http:www.ins.usdoj. The 199 Act also made importantchanges to employment-based preferences. "Immigration in fiscal year 1995." (1997): 1-24. H. Developments in International Migration to the United States. At othertimes, the waves have involved ethnic groups, as an example, the Jews frommany different countries in the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies. Bycontrast, residents of the listed European countries-Albania, Croatia,Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Malta, Poland, and Romania-are placedat a decided disadvantage for selection for entry into the United States ineither immigrant or non-immigrant status.Changes in the Demographic Profile of Entrants into the United States: 1992- 1997 Immigration to the United States classified by region-Europe or therest of the world-for the 1992-1997 period is summarized in Table 1.Immigration to the United States where employment preferences were involvedfor the 1992-1997 period is summarized in Table 2.Table 1Immigration by Region: 1992-1997|Region |1992 |1993 |1994 |1995 |1996 |1997 ||Europe |143,729 |157,92 |16 ,82 |128,185 |147,581 |119,898 ||Other |666,9 6 |722, 94 |637,574 |592,276 |768,319 |678,48 | Source: U.S. The most telling statistic related to thesesix professions and occupations, however, is that, as a group, theyaccounted for only 7.2 percent of working age (15-64 years old) immigrantsin fiscal year 1997. There are many different types of migration. Second preference in relation to employment-based preferences isaccorded to persons holding advanced degrees or with exceptional (asopposed to extraordinary) ability, together with the spouses and childrenof such persons. This subtle difference did not fool the Japanese public who deeplyresented American attitudes and the American action in legislating theImmigration Act of 1924 (Spinks 617). Immigration andNaturalization Service, "Provisions of the Immigration Act of 199 " 1). The Act prohibited more than 2 , immigrants in any one year from any single country of origin. In fiscal year 1996, however, 16,353 immigrants wereadmitted on employment-based preferences from the people's Republic ofChina, while 21,161 were admitted from all countries in Europe (UnitedStates Immigration & Naturalization Service Table 6, 1996). M. gov/legislativehistory/index.htmlUnited States Immigration & Naturalization Service. In fiscal year 1994, the 65years old and older component accounted for five-percent of totalimmigration to the United States. ||United Kingdom |2.4 |2.1 |2. The first group of listings includesthe various occupations and skills that are accorded preferences for entryinto the United States. Among immigrants from South Central Europe, approximately 8 percent repatriated. This femaledominated immigration in the 195 s continued the trend in the JapaneseAmerican population component toward gender balance. |68. "Chinese and Japanese As Urban Americans: 185 -194 ." History Teacher, 25 (1992), 427-441.Ehrenhalt, S. G. "The Formation of American Public Opinion Toward Japan." Contemporary Japan, 6 (March 1938), 616-622.Takaki, R. http:www.ins.usdoj.gov/textonly/stats/annual/fy97/ 314.htmlUnited States Immigration & Naturalization Service. Major immigration from European countries for the period 1992-1997 issummarized in Tables 3 and 4. Thelengthy list of classes of nonimmigrant aliens covers aliens who intend tobe temporary residents of the United States and includes people fromambassadors to tourists and everyone between these extremes. Further, the most massive group of immigrants in thecontemporary immigration wave are from Mexico, and, unlike the Europeans ofthe first two decades of this century, the Mexican immigrants are notspreading out across the country. Increasingly, immigrantsentering with employment-related preferences are in the lower skilledclassifications. The previous immigration law heldthat new immigrants should reflect the ethnic composition of the Americanpopulation at the time. After all is said and done, however, the real issue that must beaddressed is the likely impact on American society of the shift in thecomposition of immigration to the United States since 1965. |9.4 |9.2 |8.8 ||Other |65.6 |66.6 |68. "The New Economics of Immigration." Atlantic Monthly 278 (November 1996): 72-74, 76-78, 8 .Calavita, K. These professions andoccupations, in order of the most immigrants supplied, are as follows: (1)engineers, (2) teachers below the postsecondary level, (3) technologistsother than health related, (4) nurses, (5) physicians, and (6) writers,artists, entertainers, and athletes (United States Immigration &Naturalization Service 13). A1996 amendment to immigration legislation in the form of the IllegalImmigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, as the name of the Actimplies, focused on those individuals entering the United States illegally. As stated also, of these acts, those beginning with theImmigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 3 October 1965 and forwardprovide the primary focus for this research. George Borjas, Harvard University, himself an immigrant from Cuba,approaches the potential impact of contemporary immigration on the UnitedStates as the economist that he is by assessing the potential economiccosts associated with an immigrant population heavily laden with theunskilled and the old. With respect to diversity-preference immigrationand refugee-preference immigration, however, males continue to account forwell over 5 percent of immigration in each classification.Table 5Gender Distribution [%] of Immigration to the United States: 1994-1996 [ByImmigrant Preference Classification]|Gender |Family |Employment |Diversity |Refugee |Other |Total ||Female | | | | | | ||1994 |56.6 |48.8 |46.3 |49.6 |68.3 |53.9 ||1995 |57. Continuing with the use of fiscalyear 1996 data for illustrative purposes, 27,5 1 persons were admitted tothe United States as immigrants under first preference employment criteriain that year, a level that represented only three-percent of all immigrantsadmitted in fiscal year 1996 (Kramer 6). Among these earlier European immigrants, only theJews and the Irish remained in high proportions of their total immigration. Immigration and Naturalization Service As the data presented in Table 2 indicate, the relevance of higherlevel skills as a criterion for entrance into the United States as animmigrant deteriorated over the 1992-1997 period. Works CitedBorjas, G. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.United States Immigration & Naturalization Service. http:www.ins.usdoj.gov/textonly/stats/annual/fy95/133.htmlUnited States Immigration & Naturalization Service. Impact of Recent Immigration Legislation on the Selection of Entrants to US Introduction This research examines the effects of recent immigration legislationin the United States on the selection of entrants into the country both asimmigrants and as nonimmigrants. With respect to gender, female immigrants outnumber male immigrantsgenerally, although male immigrants outnumber female immigrants inemployment-based preference immigration. Organized labor supports this action on thegrounds that jobs are being lost to immigrants. By contrast, 53.3 percent of working age immigrantsto the United States in fiscal year 1997 had no preference occupations orskills. The 199 amendments toimmigration legislation, however, included no substantive changes inrelation to nonimmigrant entry into the United States (U.S. The new immigration law held that the origins ofnew immigrants should not be determined by the ethnic composition of theAmerican population, but, rather, by the push and pressures of thoseeverywhere who hungered to enter. In the late-199 s, the anti-immigration movement is seeking to keep out immigrants fromLatin America and Asia. Unfortunately, in the late-twentieth century, much of what is claimedto be politically motivated transnational migration is in fact economicallymotivated. "Immigration in fiscal year 1996." (1998): 1-24. Exchange Visitor Skills Listing. Of greater relevance tothis current study, however, were the provisions to create a new temporaryadmission classification for agricultural workers and to establish a pilotprogram under which some nonimmigrants would be granted entry without avisa. Washington: U.S. Immediate relatives ofUnited States citizens, by way of illustration, accounted for 32.8 percentof immigrants to the United States in fiscal year 1996, while persons withother family-based preferences accounted for an additional 32.1 percent ofimmigrants. The implication of these arguments is thatimmigration may not be expected to adversely affect the unemployment rate. In fiscal year1995, 13,757 immigrants were admitted on employment-based preferences fromthe people's Republic of China, while only 13,6 5 were admitted from allcountries in Europe (United States Immigration & Naturalization ServiceTable 6, 1995). ||Administrative |9.8 |9.2 |9. Global Changes and Theoretical Challenges. Data reflecting the genderdistribution of immigration for the 1994-1994 period are presented in Table5. What isnot known with any degree of precision, however, is just how many illegalimmigrants from Mexico were successful in their attempts to enter theUnited States. A Different Mirror. With the exceptions of individuals enteringunder the Canada-US FTA or NAFTA, athletes and entertainers, and foreignmedia representatives, the great majority of these nonimmigrant entrantswere Europeans (Kramer 33-34). Most of theimmigrants in the early decades of the twentieth century were from SouthernMediterranean and Eastern European countries. In 1978, amendments to immigration legislation abolished theseparate hemispheric ceilings on immigration and created a single globalceiling of 29 , immigrants per year. First, the total numberof immigrants remained a relatively small proportion of the totalpopulation. Economic motives are almost thesole cause for internal migration. This action was the quota applied toJapanese immigration to the United States that was included in theImmigration Act of 1924. Japanese immigration to the United Statesdeclined dramatically following the virtual exclusion of immigrants fromJapan subsequent to the Immigration Act of 1924. Japanese immigration to the United States remained low until thebeginning of the 195 s. Relevance of Recent Immigration Legislation to Various Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Classes The effect of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 3October 1965, in reversing the long-standing Eurocentric character ofimmigration to the United States, has had its greatest relevance inrelation to immigrants, as opposed to nonimmigrants admitted to the UnitedStates. http:www. As Kennedy (68)points out, Hispanics comprise 28 percent of the population of Texas and 31percent of the population of California in the late-199 s. Economy: Framework for BLS Projections." Monthly Labor Review 116 (November 1993): 11-3 .Shapiro, D. A majority of the American population, together with organizedlabor represented by the AFL, however, opposed such immigration (Calavita285). For would-be immigrants and non-immigrant entrants from Europe, thosepersons residing in the member states of the European Union, along withNorway, Switzerland, and Russia find themselves with an advantage ingaining entry to the United States, as their countries are not listed inthe recent immigration legislation as countries where skills shortagesexist. Suchresistance, however, is not new in the United States. Manyindividuals were counted several times over among that 21 million. There isno evidence that the shift from a Eurocentric orientation is selection forentry to an orientation favoring Latin American and Asian applicants willbe anything other than beneficial to the country. Thus, no immigrant group was able toestablish a sufficiently strong political power mass to develop thepotential to substantially alter the country's policies and values (Kennedy58, 61, 64). "Can We Still Afford to Be A nation of Immigrants?" Atlantic Monthly 278 (November 1996): 52-54, 56, 58, 61, 64, 66-69.Kramer, R. With respect topermanent immigration, the changes in the country's immigration legislationhave decreased the proportion of entrants from Europe. As the Japanese population on the American West Coastincreased through labor immigration, economic competition increased betweenthe Japanese immigrants, immigrant settlers from Europe, and native-bornAmericans. Kennedy (58) pointed-out another difference between the massiveimmigration wave of the first two decades of this century and thecontemporary massive wave of immigration to the United State than began inthe mid-196 s. In addition to the legislative acts that were either immigration-specific or which contained immigration-specific articles, important recenttreaties also have contained immigration-specific articles. The proportion of foreign-born to native-born Japanese Americansshifted toward a predominance for native-born between 193 and 194 .Native-born dominance has become greater in subsequent decades. These positions are virtually the same in 1999. Thecharacter of the effects on each affected immigrant class are analyzed.The actual effects of recent immigration legislation on changes in thedemographic profile of entrants into the United States from 1992 through1997 then are presented and analyzed. Employers and many governmentleaders welcomed the immigrants as a source of low-cost labor and newskills. In fiscal year 1997, the comparableproportion was 4.9 percent. Among the earlier Europeans, approximately 4 percentrepatriated. The movement for Japanese exclusion was supported by American labororganizations and by nationalist organizations in the country. The surgein immigration from Latin American and Asian countries helped spur thedissemination of these population groups throughout the country, as themore traditional ethnic enclaves no longer could accommodate all of the newarrivals. Second, the earlier immigrantspossessed high levels of skills that were in demand by the growing Americaneconomy of the day. The recent changes in immigration legislation in the United Stateshave tightened the requirements for entry on employment preferences as animmigrant, while making it easier to enter the country for reasons ofemployment on a temporary visa as a nonimmigrant. Immigration and Naturalization Service As the data presented in Table 4 indicate, immigration from Europeancountries in recent years peaked in 1994 and reached a six-year low in1997. Approximately 2 occupational and skills are listed forpreference in 1 separate groups. By 19 6, Japanese immigration to California was sufficient tocause a storm of protest in that state, and President Theodore Rooseveltdispatched the "entire American fleet to Japan to 'silence' the Japaneseand appease the vociferous Californians" (Inui 157). Immigrants from Europe accounted for 17.7 percent of allimmigrants in 1992; however, this proportion dropped to 15 percent by 1997.Table 2Employment-Preference Immigration by Occupation Group: 1992-1997 [%]|Group |1992 |1993 |1994 |1995 |1996 |1997 ||Professional & Technical |24.6 |24.2 |23. Specifically, the provisions of such legislationwith a potential to affect substantially the selection of entrants into theUnited States are delineated. N. J. Arevised preference system also was introduced, with a maximum of 25,845preference immigrants per year allowed for any one independent country anda maximum of 8,384 immigrants per year allowed to any country that is adependency of an independent country. These economistsalso contend that: (1) in times of rapid population growth, the effects ofimmigration on labor force growth is negligible; and (2) as populationgrowth slows, so, too, will labor force growth, in spite of higherimmigration (Saunders 14). While this Act is both significant and controversial, it does not have amaterial relevance to the focus of this current study (U.S. Immigration andnaturalization Service, "Legislative History" 4). In the absence of another massive rewrite of the nation'simmigration legislation, this trend may be expected to continue. Simultaneously, however, more than 21 million Mexicans wereapprehended attempting to enter the United States illegally. M. While females continue to account for approximately 57 percent ofall immigrants in this classification, the trend in employment-preferenceimmigration is trending toward heavier female immigration. The issue of immigration received increased public attention duringthe general election campaign of 1996 in the United States. Congress overrode Wilson'sveto in 1917, writing into law the Immigration Act of 5 February 1917,which first created an Asian "barred zone" from which immigration to theUnited States was prohibited. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1991.Daniels, R. With respect totemporary visas for nonimmigrants for reasons other than pleasure, however,changes to immigration legislation have favored entrants from Europe.Overall, however, contemporary immigration to the United States is heavilyoriented toward entry preferences for people from Latin American and Asiancountries. In one context,migration may be categorized as either transnational or internal.Transnational migration, as the term implies involves the movement ofpeople across national political borders. This view of the motivation for immigrationto the United States runs counter the xenophobic belief that immigrants areattracted primarily by American values. David Kennedy,Stanford University, approaches this question as the historian that he isby comparing contemporary immigration with the last massive immigrationwave that occurred in the first two decades of the twentieth century.Kennedy contends that the earlier massive wave of immigrants was absorbedby the United States in a way that was beneficial to both the existingpopulation and the immigrants for three reasons. Immigration to the United States was a major issue in the early-yearsof the twentieth century, as it is in the twilight years of the century.Approximately 25 million immigrants reached the United States in the lastfour decades of the nineteenth century, and immigration was continuing inthe early-decades of the twentieth century. One outcome of this situation is that alltransnational migrants tend to be increasingly viewed with suspicion by thepopulations of the developed countries that are the targets of thetransnational migrants (Martin 57). There are solid stormwarnings, however, that a continuation of the selection for entry of a highproportion of unskilled persons of working age will exert a highly adverseimpact on the future economy of the United States. All other immigrant groupsaccounted for only 1.9 percent of the total of all immigrants in fiscalyear 1996 (Kramer 4-5). Information Agency 2).An advantage accrues, therefore, to persons possessing the desired skillsor occupations that reside in countries that are not listed. The implication of this argument is that immigrationcauses the work force to increase more rapidly than the economy can createnet new jobs, thereby resulting in increased unemployment in the country.Many economists contend, however, that new immigrants also are a greatpotential source of strength for the economy, because they tend to beyoung, innovative, and entrepreneurial (Ehrenhalt 48). With respect to employment preferences especially, subsequentamendments to immigration legislation have had the effect of granting entrypreference to nonimmigrants from the developed countries of the world, asopposed to the developing countries of the world. |1.7 |1.5 |1.3 ||Yugoslavia [Former] | .2 | .3 | .4 |1.2 | .8 | .7 ||Total [7 Countries] |11.3 |11.5 |13.5 |11.5 |1 .3 |9.2 | Source: U.S. The next major change in immigration legislation was the ImmigrationReform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. http:www.ins.usdoj.gov/textonly/stats/annual/fy96/ 1 7.htmlUnited States Immigration & Naturalization Service. |22.6 |22.2 |21. Significantlyin relation to the focus of this current study, major European countriesare not listed. From 1982 through 1994, as an example, three million people emigratedfrom Mexico to the United States. http://www.fairus.org/ 3 36 4.htmInui, K. http://econ.la.psu.edu/~dshapiro/463iiic.htmSpinks, C. There are two types of listings inrelation to employment preferences. Government Printing Office, 1997. In 1978, as an example,92, persons immigrated into the United States from Mexico, 29, immigrating from Korea, and only 14,2 from the United Kingdom. Among preference-basedclassifications, the 15-29 years old age bracket accounted for the mostimmigrants in all classifications except employment-based preferences,where the highest proportion of immigrants were in the 3 -44 year old agebracket. |49.6 |54.2 |52.7 |64.7 |46.2 | Source: U.S. C. By 1978, interpretation of the law had so changed that the 2 , legal limit had become a fiction, as the limitation largely was appliedonly to European and English speaking countries. The primarysites of American resentment against the Japanese were those locationswhere Japanese immigrants settled, with most of the rest of the countryeither uninterested in the issue or opposed to the California calls forexclusion of the Japanese (Spinks 617). Important also within the context of the impact of recent immigrationlegislation on the selection of entrants into the United States are therulings made by the United States Immigration & Naturalization Service inthe application of immigration legislation. Major amendments to immigration legislation in the United States wereenacted in the form of the Immigration Act of 199 . In fiscal year 1996, 62,756persons were admitted to the United States as immigrants under thirdpreference employment criteria in that year, a level that represented 6.8percent of all immigrants admitted in fiscal year 1996 (Kramer 6-7). Thus,immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries are formingpolitical power bases from which they likely will be able to influencepolicy and value changes in the United States to an extent that the earlierEuropean majority immigrants were never able to accomplish. Special preferences for people fleeing Kosovo may resultin an increase of immigrants from the Former Yugoslavia in 1999 and 2 .Table 4Major Immigration from European Countries: 1992-1997 [Proportion of AllImmigrants to the United States-%]|Country |1992 |1993 |1994 |1995 |1996 |1997 ||Germany |1.2 | .9 | .9 | .9 | .7 | .6 ||Ireland |1.5 |1.5 |2.2 |1.4 |1.2 |1. The concluding discussion considersthe impact on the United States of the changes in the demographic profileof entrants into the United States. While the overall immigrant total remains relatively small incomparison with the total population of the United States, contemporaryimmigrants by and large are unskilled. Kennedy (56) contends thatcomparable developments in Asia and Latin America are motivatingcontemporary immigrants to the United States. Over the longer period from1965 through 1992, 3.7 million Mexicans became legal immigrants to theUnited States. By fiscal year 1996 (U.S. government),65 percent of immigrants were admitted to the United States underpreferences in relation to family reunification. As a consequence, the existing population, for the most part,was not threatened by the immigrants. In fiscal year 1996, 18,462 persons were admitted to theUnited States as immigrants under second preference employment criteria inthat year, a level that represented only two-percent of all immigrantsadmitted in fiscal year 1996 (Kramer 6). "Economic and Demographic Change: The Case of New York City." Monthly Labor Review 116 (February 1993): 4 -5 ."Europe's Would-Be Westerners." Economist, (17 August 1991), 12-13.Hedges, F. Political and public agitation against furthertransnational migration is building. Divisions within the Americanpopulation with respect to excluding Japanese immigrants resulted in theadoption of quotas for Japanese immigration in the Immigration Act of 1924in lieu of actually excluding Japanese from immigrating to the UnitedStates. By fiscal year1996, females accounted for just over 5 percent of all employment-preference immigration. This review is presented in the followingsection of this study. That number represented 2 percent ofMexico's population growth during the period. The temporary admission to the United States of nonimmigrants forpurpose of employment increased from 58 , in 1994 to 691, in 1996.These numbers included dependents accompanying the nonimmigrant entrants.The six largest groups of these temporary entrants were (1) professionalsand technical workers, (2) inter-company transferees, (3) treaty tradersand investors, (4) professional workers entering under the Canada-US FreeTrade Agreement and the NAFTA, (5) athletes and entertainers, and (6)foreign media representatives. "American Public Opinion Toward Japan." Contemporary Japan, 1 (February 1941), 149-16 .Kennedy, D. By contrast, the American economy needed people and theIndustrial Revolution did not have the same effect of skills obsolescencein a rapidly growing economy. The 3 -44 years old age bracket accounted for the most immigrantsin the employment-preference classification for both females and males. "The U.S. Immigrants admitted in relation to employment-basedpreferences in fiscal year 1996 accounted for only 12.8 percent of totalimmigrants. While great majority of immigrants to the United States continue to bein the 15-44 years old age bracket, however, a significant differencebetween contemporary and earlier immigration is the proportion ofimmigrants who are 65 years old or older. This review provides a valuable basis for the considerationof the impact of recent immigration legislation on the selection ofentrants into the United States. Scope of the Research This research reviews historical precedents and outcomes relevant tothe impact of immigration legislation on the selection of entrants into theUnited States. As expected, theracist immigration legislation enraged the Japanese nation. As most of the developedcountries of the world are located in Europe, employment-relatednonimmigrants from the developed countries of Europe have been thebeneficiaries of the employment-preference amendments to immigrationlegislation. The same populationsin the developed countries are much less sympathetic-often hostile-toeconomic transnational migrants. Rather, they are forming critical massesin the Southwestern States from Texas to California. Immigration and Naturalization Service While the data presented indicate that European countries have notbeen the most important sources of immigrants to the United States inrecent years, the data do indicate that, among European countries, threestates in Eastern Europe-Poland, Russia, and Ukraine-consistent were thegreatest providers of European immigrants to the United States during the1992-1997 period. Table 3 indicates the ranking of theEuropean country in relation to all other countries as a source ofimmigrants to the United States in a given year. Legal immigration (as opposed to the entry of non-immigrants) to theUnited States is based on preferences for family reunification, employment-based factors, refugees and asylees, and in relation to United Statesgovernment programs seeking diversity in the countries from whichimmigrants are admitted (Kramer 3). The focus onnonimmigrants in this research is on those aliens who enter the UnitedStates for the purpose of employment, regardless of the nature of suchemployment. Refugees and asylees accounted for 14 percent of immigrants infiscal year 1996, while immigrants with diversity preferences accounted for6.4 percent of the total of all immigrants. First preference in relation to employment-based preferences isaccorded to persons with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors andresearchers, and multinational executives and managers, together with thespouses and children of such persons. Following this discussion of the relevantimmigration legislation, immigrant and nonimmigrant classes that areaffected positively or negatively (within the context of the probability ofbeing selected for entry into the United States) are identified. The Japanese Americanpopulation had been dominantly male prior to 195 . What Kennedy does notaddress, however, is that, had the 1965 immigration reform legislation notbeen enacted, these comparable developments in Asia and Latin America couldnot have results in the shift from Eurocentric to Latin and Asianimmigration to the United States. Kennedy (56) pointed-out that the earlier European immigrants came tothe United States because increasing population growth in Europe increasedcompetition for jobs and because the Industrial Revolution made many skillsobsolete. These treatiesare the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that largely superceded the FTA.Each of these treaties contains immigration-specific articles that governthe entry of workers into the United States from each of the other treatysignatory countries. Immigration and Naturalization Service As the data presented in Table 1 indicate, the changes in immigrationlaw did not translate into realized gains for entrants from Europe over the1992-1997 period. Most certainly, many, perhaps most, ofthe existing population would resist such change if they were aware of thetrends, but only if one believes that everything that the United Statesdoes is perfect and is ordained by God can one reject change out of hand.The United States, however, always has had more than its share ofxenophobic people. Following this review, the relevant recent immigration legislation isidentified and discussed. Immigration and Naturalization Service With respect to the age of immigrants, the 15-29 years old age bracketaccounted for the highest proportion of immigrants from 1994 through 1997.This age bracket accounted for the highest proportion of immigrants amongboth females and males in those years. When debating the racially motivated exclusion of Asian immigrants in1912, the United States Congress had to decide whether California's loudlyproclaimed racial and cultural interest in Japanese exclusion was worthantagonizing the Japanese Empire (Light 6 ). One of thecharges made frequently by politicians during this campaign was thatimmigrants to the United States are taking jobs away from people already inthe United States. A total of 142 immigration-specific acts or acts with immigration-specific articles were enacted at the federal level in the United Statesfrom 26 March 179 through 3 September 1996 (United States Immigration &Naturalization Service 1-4). Six professions or occupations each account for more that 5, immigrants to the United States each year. Migration also may be differentiated according to motive (Martin 56).Two widely applied categories in this context are economic and politicalmigration. |2.1 |2.1 ||Ukraine |1.8 |2.1 |2.6 |2.4 |2.3 |2. The term "immigrant" refers all aliensexcept an alien who is classified within one of the classes of nonimmigrantaliens specified in the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA). The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 3 October 1965 hashad a greater impact on changes in the selection of entrants into thecountry than has any other single legislative act, as it was thislegislation that broke the Eurocentric focus of immigration in the UnitedStates. Third preference in relation to employment-based preferences isaccorded to skilled workers, persons with baccalaureate degrees, studentsfrom the People's Republic of China, and unskilled workers, together withthe spouses and children of such persons. Table 4 indicates theproportion of all immigrants to the United States in a given year for whichthe listed European country was the source.Table 3Major Immigration from European Countries: 1992-1997 [Rank as an Immigrantsource/Rank Among European Countries]|Country |1992 |1993 |1994 |1995 |1996 |1997 ||Germany |2 /5 |26/6 |26/6 |29/7 |32/7 |35/7 ||Ireland |16/4 |17/4 |1 /3 |18/5 |21/5 |24/5 ||Poland |7/1 |7/1 |7/1 |13/3 |15/3 |16/3 ||Russia |24/6 |19/5 |14/5 |11/2 |9/2 |1 /1 ||Ukraine |14/3 |1 /3 |8/2 |8/1 |8/1 |11/2 ||United Kingdom |8/2 |9/2 |11/4 |15/4 |17/4 |19/4 ||Yugoslavia [Former] |3 /7 |3 /7 |3 /7 |21/6 |22/6 |25/6 | Source: U.S. Thus, if acountry is listed in relation to one of the listed occupations and skillsfor which entry preference is available, persons desiring to enter theUnited States from those listed countries are required to wait for twoyears in their home countries before consideration will be given to theirapplication for entry into the United States (U.S. By contrast with the 9.2 percent of total immigrants to the UnitedStates in 1997 who came from European countries, the majority of immigrantsto the United States came from Europe each year prior to the 1965immigration legislation ("Internal Population Change and Immigration" 6). Similarly and, for thesame reasons in the contemporary period, organized labor opposes managementefforts to relocate production facilities in Latin American and Asiancountries. Third, the earlier immigrants dispersed over a widegeographic area of the country. ||Poland |3.1 |3.2 |3.5 |1.9 |1.7 |1.5 ||Russia |1.1 |1.4 |1.9 |2. Economicmotives are responsible for most of the transnational migration that isoccurring in the late-twentieth century. |49.4 |44.7 |48.7 |38.5 |53.8 ||1996 |57. Because of the substantial impact that the immigration-specific articles of these treaties have on the selection of entrants intothe United States, both the FTA and the NAFTA are considered, for thepurposes of this research, to be a part of the recent immigrationlegislation that provides the focus for this research. S. "The New Politics of Immigration: 'Balanced-Budget Conservatism' and the Symbolism of Proposition 187." Social Problems 48 (August 1996): 284-3 5.Czempiel, E-O., and Rosenau, J. This Act created aflexible annual cap on immigration with 7 , immigrants per year allowedfrom 1992 through 1994 and 675, immigrants per years thereafter. |5 .6 |55.3 |51.3 |61.5 |46.2 ||1996 |43. Californians agitated for discriminatory legislation at the federallevel that would exclude Japanese immigration to the United States (Spinks617). An even moreoffensive action occurred in 1924. While the 1965 Act retained 2 , immigrant limits per countryper year for countries located in the Eastern Hemisphere, this per countrylimitation was not applied to the Western Hemisphere. Of these acts, those beginning with theImmigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 3 October 1965 and forwardprovide the primary focus for this research. "Mexican-U.S. Thus, contemporary immigration,more so than the earlier massive immigration wave, likely will drain theAmerican economy, as opposed to providing the economy with high levels ofskills in demand. Approximately 41 percent of these working age immigrants withoccupational preferences were classified as "homemakers," while 13 percentwere classified as students, and 46 percent were classified as "unskilled." Unskilled labor, as is true of immigrants 65 years old and older, is notconsistent with the general tenet of immigration proponents who contendthat immigration benefits economic growth. Contrasting the nation's experience with the earlier wave of massiveimmigration, Kennedy sees differences with respect to contemporaryimmigration. Thus, the immigrants did not become an economic burdenon American society. Amendments to immigration legislation in 1976, however, reappliedthe 2 , immigrants per year limit to countries in the WesternHemisphere. "Internal Population changes and Immigration." (1997): 1-8. Authorities estimate that number at between 15 , and2 , per year (Martin 57). Having said that contemporary immigration likely will affect thecountry differently from the immigration of an earlier era, however, is afar cry from reaching a conclusion that such an outcome would bedetrimental to the United States. "Immigration in fiscal year 1997." (1999): 1-24. In the instance of the FTA, the only signatorycountry other than the United States is Canada, while in the case of theNAFTA, both Canada and Mexico are signatory countries in addition to theUnited States. In recent years, these immigration waves have tended to involveregions of the world-peoples from many different countries in Latin Americaor peoples from many different countries in Southeast Asia are examples. "Anti-Japanism in the United States." Contemporary Japan, 8 (June 1939), 494-5 3."History of Immigration legislation." Washington: Committee for Fairness in Immigration, 1999, 1-3. N. A further amendment enacted in 1989 granted permanent status tononimmigrant registered nurses who had been in the United States for aminimum of three years and had complied with established certificationstandards ("History of Immigration Legislation" 2). Thus, a relatively steady five-percent ofcontemporary immigrants are at or beyond retirement age, which is notconsistent with the general tenet of immigration proponents who contendthat immigration benefits economic growth. For the purpose of thisresearch, therefor, these rulings are considered to be a part of the recentimmigration legislation that provides the focus for this study. "Immigration in fiscal year 1994." (1996): 1-24. In the 199 s, approximately eight-percent of the population is foreignborn-these people came to the United States through migration ("Europe'sWould Be," 12). With respect to employment-based preferential entry into the UnitedStates, more people were admitted each year in recent years from thePeople's Republic of China than from all European countries combined untilfiscal year 1996. At times, these waves haveinvolved specific countries-German and Ireland are examples. Borjas (74, 76) contends that the absolute economicbenefits that the United States derives from the few highly educated andskilled immigrants in the contemporary period are relatively small, butthat the welfare costs and the costs associated with reduced wage levelsfor lower skilled persons in the existing population will result in amassive net economic loss to the country. As the data presented in Table 5 indicate, the proportion of femaleand male immigrants in an overall context tends to remain relativelyconstant, with females accounting for almost 54 percent of all immigrants.In relation to immigrant classification, however, some variation in trendsoccurs. 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