U.S. Elections: History and evolution of U.S. immigration policy Premium

U.S. elections, immigration policy evolution, and impact on national security and economy discussed in historical context.

With the U.S. elections to be held on November 5, both the Democrats and the Republicans have amped up their respective campaigns. Considered one of the most significant elections in U.S. history, tensions are high as the nation battles a cost-of-living crisis while simultaneously arming and aiding two wars happening in different parts of the world.

One of the major issues on which voters are deciding their mandate is immigration policy. A study by the Pew Research Centre showed that about six-in-ten voters (61%) today say immigration is very important to their vote. It is of particular importance to Republican voters specifically, as 82% of Donald Trump supporters say it is a very important issue compared to 39% of Kamala Harris supporters who think the same.

A look at how immigration policy has evolved in the U.S. over the years.

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Before U.S. independence in 1776, the country was a colony of the British Empire. The U.S. War of Independence was mainly against the regressive policies of King George the Third who restricted trade and free movement. Thus, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, signed and ratified on July 4, 1776, states that King George “has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands”.

Therefore, the ‘population of states’ and ‘migrations hither’ are the foundations of the U.S. and intrinsic to its development and economic progress.

Moreover, the image of the U.S. as a beacon of light for people of all origins with the desire to make their own fortunes or require a safe haven from persecution, chaos or poverty in their home countries, has been emphasised over and over again. The Statue of Liberty, situated in New York, symbolises this sentiment. In its Museum, it is inscribed, “Give me your tired, your poor/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free/ The wretched refuse of your teeming shore”. These words gain added significance when one realises that it is through the port of New York that a lot of immigrants from the ‘Old World’ entered into the ‘New World’.