Just like when anyone migrates into a new area, these “New Immigrants” were influenced by push and pull factors, drawing them to America. They were pushed out of their homelands in rural southern and eastern Europe and large parts of Asia due to widespread poverty, oppressive taxation, and declining economies. To add onto this, these immigrants were pulled in America as industrialization was starting progress, adding to the need of labor. Not only this, they were also pulled into the country as they thought …show more content…
Before World War I, most any white persons who passed through the “golden door” and wanted to become citizens of our nation, could. Yet, in 1921, immigration from Europe was cut back to one-third of what it was before and cut even more so three years later with new national quotas to follow. In spite of that, California relied heavily on seasonal Mexican Labor so to satisfy this need, in 1924 the law established no limits on immigration from the Western Hemisphere (Foner, pg. 624). It also established the term “illegal alien” which in turn created the border patrol – policing the land boundaries of the United States and arresting deported persons who were in violation of the new quotas and restrictions. These immigration restrictions were placed due to the government wanting a “higher” quality of people, meaning white-natives essentially. This initially enhanced the emphasis on race as a determinant of of public