I'm in with the in crowd.
We looked at the origins of a national immigration policy in the last post. In case you didn't notice, nothing was said about how these immigrants became citizens.
This would be because state courts had jurisdiction over the naturalization process. Until national legislation was passed in 1906, as many as 5,000 courts across the existing 45 states.
Not surprisingly, no standard procedures governed these courts. Even the oath new citizens took varied by court, from a simple statement rejecting the old country and pledging fealty to the U.S. to an oath using a list of promises contained in immigration.
The legislation of 1906 established a bureau of naturalization, which over the years was part of the immigration bureau and a stand-alone department until well into the 20th century, when the departments were permanently joined.
The scope of the Immigration and Naturalization Service has evolved to meet the changing needs of the nation, often in response to historical events. The world wars, conditions in post-war Europe after the second world war, the Cuban refugee crisis, 9/11, all had impacts on the legislation passed to determine who gets in and who gets to stay in.
Our modern focus on so-called illegal aliens actually found its foothold in the ‘50s. Mexican migrants were targeted for deportation and fears of communists, organized crime figures and other subversive prompted INS investigations and deportation.
Back to my grandmother, her decision to seek citizenship in 1935 placed her under the rules enacted beginning near the end of World War I. Immigrants had to be able to read and write in their own language, causing the necessity of developing literacy tests. Passports became necessary for entry into the country, which brought about the issuance of border-crossing cards for travel to and from Canada and Mexico.
Legislators passed laws restricting the number of immigrants for the first time, with each nationality’s apportionment being based on its representation in the last census. Imagine being from a nation that had only had, say, two or three representatives in the 1910 census and wanting to bring your family of five to America. Don’t know if INS would have allowed an exception.
Fortunately, Grandma Amalie was already in the country, though plenty of Germans lived here by her time. Before Amalie filed an application for citizenship, she filed a Declaration of Intention. This document served as the first step in naturalization and had been around since 1795. It would become part of an applicant’s naturalization file but it did not confer citizenship, though it did confer some benefits -- ability to join the military and, in nine states, the right to vote. Declarants announced their intention to renounce allegiance to any other foreign country and become a loyal U.S. citizen.
Unfortunately, many people who filed declarations thought that made them citizens, and often their children thought that it made their parents citizens, thus bestowing citizenship on them. You can imagine that could have created a bit of mess.
Filing a declaration was never really mandatory because you could become a naturalized citizen without filing one in some instances, leading to confusion, and in 1952 Congress passed legislation making this whole step voluntary. Phew. Not like any of this wasn’t confusing enough.
If it’s voluntary these days, why would anyone file a declaration? Pretty much these days a declaration improves an applicant’s chances for employment, and some states require a declaration for certain professions and occupations or to obtain licenses.
Note, This post is my summary of information on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Any mistakes are mine.
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| Ellis Island, early 1900s |
This would be because state courts had jurisdiction over the naturalization process. Until national legislation was passed in 1906, as many as 5,000 courts across the existing 45 states.
Not surprisingly, no standard procedures governed these courts. Even the oath new citizens took varied by court, from a simple statement rejecting the old country and pledging fealty to the U.S. to an oath using a list of promises contained in immigration.
The legislation of 1906 established a bureau of naturalization, which over the years was part of the immigration bureau and a stand-alone department until well into the 20th century, when the departments were permanently joined.
The scope of the Immigration and Naturalization Service has evolved to meet the changing needs of the nation, often in response to historical events. The world wars, conditions in post-war Europe after the second world war, the Cuban refugee crisis, 9/11, all had impacts on the legislation passed to determine who gets in and who gets to stay in.
Our modern focus on so-called illegal aliens actually found its foothold in the ‘50s. Mexican migrants were targeted for deportation and fears of communists, organized crime figures and other subversive prompted INS investigations and deportation.
Back to my grandmother, her decision to seek citizenship in 1935 placed her under the rules enacted beginning near the end of World War I. Immigrants had to be able to read and write in their own language, causing the necessity of developing literacy tests. Passports became necessary for entry into the country, which brought about the issuance of border-crossing cards for travel to and from Canada and Mexico.
Legislators passed laws restricting the number of immigrants for the first time, with each nationality’s apportionment being based on its representation in the last census. Imagine being from a nation that had only had, say, two or three representatives in the 1910 census and wanting to bring your family of five to America. Don’t know if INS would have allowed an exception.
Fortunately, Grandma Amalie was already in the country, though plenty of Germans lived here by her time. Before Amalie filed an application for citizenship, she filed a Declaration of Intention. This document served as the first step in naturalization and had been around since 1795. It would become part of an applicant’s naturalization file but it did not confer citizenship, though it did confer some benefits -- ability to join the military and, in nine states, the right to vote. Declarants announced their intention to renounce allegiance to any other foreign country and become a loyal U.S. citizen.
Unfortunately, many people who filed declarations thought that made them citizens, and often their children thought that it made their parents citizens, thus bestowing citizenship on them. You can imagine that could have created a bit of mess.
Filing a declaration was never really mandatory because you could become a naturalized citizen without filing one in some instances, leading to confusion, and in 1952 Congress passed legislation making this whole step voluntary. Phew. Not like any of this wasn’t confusing enough.
If it’s voluntary these days, why would anyone file a declaration? Pretty much these days a declaration improves an applicant’s chances for employment, and some states require a declaration for certain professions and occupations or to obtain licenses.
Note, This post is my summary of information on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Any mistakes are mine.
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