"When we think about illegal immigration, we think about Mexican immigrants, whereas in fact illegal immigration cuts across all immigrant groups," notes University of Minnesota History Professor Erika Lee, author of "At America's Gate: Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943." As described in the above article from the September 30th issue of the New York Times, today's immigration system developed out of a 60 year effort to keep out Chinese immigrants.
In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese-Americans from being naturalized. Ten years later it was expanded with a requirement that all Chinese-Americans register with the government and prove their legality through the testimony of at least "one white witness." The article notes that even then many lawyers felt these laws were counter to "the very soul of the Constitution" and so argued before the U. S. Supreme Court. In 1893, the Supreme Court issued the decision "Fong Yue Ting v. United States" granting the U. S. government sweeping power to deport foreigners as "absolute and unqualified." These laws were finally repealed when China became an ally in World War II.
The article also tells the story of a young man who came over from China illegally before World War II pretending to be someone else (like an estimated 90% of Chinese immigrants during that time). After serving in the U. S. Army during World War II and working for most of his life in a family laundry, at age 88 he is proud of his childrens' professional successes (a dentist, a doctor, and the wife of and a noted New York City restaurant interior designer) and of his six multi-ethnic grandchildren.
In sum, the article says, "At a time when debates about immigration often include the claim that 'my relatives came the legal way'...[his daughter notes] 'One's status being legal or illegal, it's two seconds apart at any point.'"
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