jan 3, 1882 - Congress enacts the Immigration Act of 1882 (22 Stat. 214), constituting one the first attempts at broad federal oversight of immigration. The law levies a tax of 50cents for each passenger arriving by ship from a foreign port who is not a US citizen, to be paid by the ship’s owner. The proceeds are deposited into a fund in the US Treasury called the “immigration fund,” which the Treasury Secretary is authorized to use to defray expenses incurred in regulating immigration. The law further estab
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 3, 1882
Now
~ 143 years ago