1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formalizes the US-Mexico border after the Mexican-American War
1924: The Immigration Act of 1924 establishes the Border Patrol and a national-origins quota system (the Western Hemisphere was exempted)
1942: The Bracero Program with Mexico is launched to address US labor shortages after World War II; the program ends in 1964
1965: Immigration Act of 1965 ends the national-origins quota system, shifting emphasis towards family reunification, skills, and professions; Western Hemisphere immigration is limited to 120,000 per year (effective in 1968)
1975: Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees are resettled in the US after fleeing by boat; President Nixon begins using the term "War on Drugs"
1979: Congress establishes the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy (SCIRP); final report is issued in 1981
1980: 125,000 Cubans arrive in the US in the Mariel boatlift; President Carter loses reelection
1982: Downward spiraling oil prices contribute to economic crisis in Mexico as President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado begins his term
1986: The Immigration Reform and Control Act makes it illegal to knowingly hire unauthorized workers, establishes a legalization program, and increases funding for the INS, especially Border Patrol; Congress begins requiring that the Department of State certify countries' cooperation in drug control efforts; President Reagan authorizes military involvement in anti-drug activities in a National Security Decision Directive; Border Patrol is given lead role in drug interdiction at the border
1990: The US, Mexico, and Canada begin negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); the Immigration Act of 1990 expands legal immigration, including a new visa lottery program, and creates the Commission on Immigration Reform, requiring an interim report in 1994 and final report in 1997
1992: President Bush, President Salinas of Mexico, and Prime Minister Mulroney of Canada sign NAFTA on December 17, 1992 (NAFTA is approved by Congress in 1993); President Bush issues an Executive Order directing the Coast Guard to interdict and return migrants
1993: First World Trade Center bombing occurs; Border Patrol implements Operation Blockade/Hold the Line along the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez border
1994: NAFTA comes into effect on January 1, 1994; there is a subsequent peso crisis at the onset of the inauguration of Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Le—n; Proposition 187 passes in California, in attempt to deny illegal immigrants social services, medical care, and public education; INS announces a new, multiyear, Southwest border-control strategy
1994: An exodus of 38,000 Cubans and 25,000 Haitians are intercepted at sea and returned by the US Coast Guard; a safe haven is created at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
1995: President Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Chretien sign the Shared Accord on Our Border
1996: Three laws affecting immigration policy are signed: the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) (commonly referred to as the Welfare Reform Bill), and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)
1997: President Clinton announces a Border Vision Initiative with the Canadians, and he and President Zedillo sign a Joint Declaration on Migration and a Joint Alliance Against Drugs
1999: President Clinton and Prime Minister Chretien launch the Canada-US Partnership Forum to improve border management; "Millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam is arrested while attempting to enter Washington state from Canada
2000: Vicente Fox becomes the President of Mexico and announces Mexico's desire to work with the United States on immigration policy; the INS issues a Northern Border Strategy
2001: On September 11, terrorists attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon; President Bush signs the US PATRIOT Act on October 26 and the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19; he also signs the United States-Canada Smart Border Declaration in December and in March 2002 the United States-Mexico Border Partnership Agreement; Attorney General Ashcroft announces voluntary interviews
2002: Attorney General Ashcroft announces a series of immigration enforcement initiatives, including the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) and the Student and Exchange Visitor System (SEVIS); Congress enacts the Homeland Security Act and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act; changes in visa policy include new security forms and background checks, review of the visa-waiver program, limits on waivers of interviews, and DHS authority over visa policy
2003: The Department of Homeland Security becomes operational in January, incorporating parts of 22 agencies, including INS, which is abolished; immigration functions within DHS are divided between Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)
2003: President Bush announces plans for the Terrorist Threat Integration Center to assess information from the CIA, Department of Justice, Pentagon, and DHS; DHS Secretary Tom Ridge announces the US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology System (US-VISIT) which subsumes NSEERS and SEVIS; DHS suspends Transit Without Visa and International to International Transit programs; DHS consolidates its immigration, customs, and agriculture inspectors in "One Face at the Border;" DHS and State Department publish Memorandum of Understanding regarding division of responsibilities in visa issuance and policy
2004: President Bush calls for a new temporary worker program; the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission), created in late 2002, issues its final report, which becomes a nationwide bestseller; President Bush signs into law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which incorporates many recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
2005: DHS announces that all visa-waiver countries must provide passports with digital pictures by October 2005 and e-passports by October 2006; Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Kennedy (D-MA) and Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Kyl (R-AZ) introduce legislation for comprehensive immigration reform; the State Department announces the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative; the governors of New Mexico and Arizona each declare a state of emergency in their counties along the border
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Source: Migration Policy Institute
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