Civics 101 When did immigrants become "illegal?"
Feb 10, 2026
Muzaffar Chishti, immigration lawyer and senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, traces how U.S. immigration rules developed from open borders to quota systems. He discusses early naturalization laws, the rise of qualitative exclusions in the 1880s, the 1924 national-origin quotas, and how limits made unauthorized status possible. The conversation covers 1965 reform, modern backlogs, and shifting terminology.
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Trainer Corrected Host On Language
- Nick Capodice learned to avoid the phrase "illegal alien" while training at the Tenement Museum describing Rosaria Baldizzi.
- A trainer corrected him and said the term was not preferred.
Federal Immigration Rules Began Late
- The U.S. had no federal immigration laws until 1880 and used naturalization earlier than immigration rules.
- The term "alien" appears in early laws, but formal federal exclusion began much later in history.
Early Laws Defined 'Alien' And Citizenship
- The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited citizenship to "free white men" and introduced the word "alien."
- The Alien and Sedition Acts followed and authorized deportation of foreigners deemed dangerous.
