as the world turns

 Before posting a conclusion yesterday I did some reading. I wouldn't call it research as I merely read what was printed without going to multiple sources. What I was reading about was immigration in America. I was only interested in the law and how it progressed over time. I started with the definition of immigration. Just what is that? The dictionary says it is the act of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. Okay, that's what I thought it was. The first laws regarding immigration in the United States were enacted in the late 1800's. In 1790 there was a naturalization act establishing rules for citizenship including a residency requirement, but that didn't address immigration, only obtaining citizenship. 

 In 1875 the Supreme court declared that immigration regulation was a federal responsibility. That came about because individual states had begun making their own laws and regulations about that. In 1882, as economic conditions worsened with the sheer number of immigrants, the alien exclusion act was signed. A head tax of fifty cents was imposed on every immigrant. It also blocked the entry of, idiots, lunatics, convicts and those likely to become a charge to the public. They certainly aren't terms we would use today but you can't deny the sensibility of such restrictions. It wasn't until 1921 that the first restriction on numbers of immigrants were imposed. By 1990 this number had risen to 675,000. Then in 2006, then President Bush signed the secure fence act! This act authorized the building of a fence on our southern border. It's purpose is obvious. Remember back in 1875 the Supreme court declared immigration was a federal responsibility. The government was to control immigration! 

 I was reading about all of that, it's quite interesting really and the reasons shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, money. But I was interested because I had once again heard this claim that America was a nation of immigrants! That immigrants had built this nation. Well now that just isn't true. 

 What is an immigrant? A person coming to live in a foreign nation permanently. In 1607 when those folks landed at Jamestown just what nation was here? The answer is a simple one, none. There was no established country on the north American continent. I'd say it was pretty hard to immigrate to a nation that doesn't exist. Yes you could argue that the Indians were here but they had no nation in the sense of a central power  (government) some estimate as many as 650 tribes and they certainly didn't have any immigration laws or policies. So, they weren't immigrants, they were migrants. And as migrants they did what ever other migrant in history has done, occupy the land and conquer whomever was in there way. And yes that's different than attacking a sovereign nation. That action we call, waging war. The attacking party doesn't necessarily have to have a nation, the intent being to gain one. You can't gain what doesn't exist, right? Seeing as there was no nation to attack, those Europeans just migrated to north America. The Indians had done so by crossing the land bridge, the Europeans used ships. The action was the same.

 It wasn't until the treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 that America became an officially recognized nation. The nation had been built by then, that's why we call them the founding fathers! It was they that founded a nation. Were they refugees, migrants or just rebels? All depends upon your point of view I suppose but one thing they weren't: immigrants. So all that has transpired since 1783 is history, as the saying goes. The migrants established a nation. Science tells us all humanity came out of Africa. If that is so then everyone is a migrant, followed by immigrants, followed by naturalized citizens. That's how it works. You could say " As the world turns " or how you wish to spin it. Something man has done since the beginning of time is my guess. A nation of immigrants? Nope, a nation formed by migrants.