Laws since 1882 impact treatment of women as immigrants in the U.S.

Numerous laws, beginning from 1882, affect the way immigration rules are applied to women in the United States.

Compiled by Roberto Daza

Women & U.S. Immigration Policy
1882: Public Charge Law
Used to ban any immigrant “likely to become a public charge.” This first form of border control was used against any minor accompanied by an adult female trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border by enforcing the law.

1917: Immigration Act of 1917
Used to restrict and selectively control the influx of Mexican immigrants entering the U.S. This provision in the INS 1917 disallowed the migration of minor under the age of 16 unless a parent or relative commit to financial supporting them.

Enforcement of this provision in cities along the U.S. Mexico border targeted women presumed to be the children’s caretaker, and as a result were denied admission in the country.

1986: Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)
Written in gender-neutral language, this act favored male-dominated realms of employment, while ignoring women who were a part of informal domestic-service sector and other predominantly female realms of employment.

The enforcement of IRCA and its provision resulted four men for every one women receiving permanent residence in the U.S.

Rule Six
Written in gender-neutral language, rule six of IRCA provided a path to legalization for immigrants who could prove that they had been working continuously in the U.S. for five years or more, without having receive public assistance as established by the Public Charge law.

Women, having been predominantly employed in the informal sector of domestic service, found it impossible to meet such requirements. Only 20 percent of the 1.9 million who were granted amnesty were women.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
A welfare program used to assist the citizen children of immigrant families; AFDC was used to wrongly deny women amnesty granted by IRCA.

This practice was challenged in court and successfully terminated, but redress came to only a few of the amnesty program’s female applicants.

Special Agricultural Work (SAW) Program
A provision of IRCA, this program gave visas to field workers, a profession that was predominantly male, but denied visas to cannery workers, a profession that is predominantly female.

Operation Gatekeeper
An extension of IRCA, Operation Gatekeeper was implemented in the California/Baja California region, with similar operations along major border cities in Arizona and Texas, and allowed for the placement of physical barriers that forced illegal border crossing to the deserts, making the trek more dangerous and costly.

Because of the danger, female migrants find it to difficult and dangerous to cross without a Coyote.

Since the inception of Operation Gatekeeper, between 1994 and 2002, more that 2,000 people have died attempting to cross the border. A 500 percent increase compared to the years before its creation.

1993: Proposition 187
Aimed not at women, but at denying access to services to their children, Prop 187 would have barred the children of illegal immigrants access to public education, health/social services, and birthright citizenship. Teachers, educators, and health workers would have been obligated by law to report any child to INS if suspected of being an illegal immigrant.

Although deemed unconstitutional by the courts, many aspect of prop 187 were drafted into law in the form of 1996’s Welfare Reform Act and the Illegal Immigration and Responsibility Act.

1996: Immigration Reform Act
Aimed at the reunification of families, 1996’s Immigration Reform Act redefined the term “family” to include only members of the traditional “nuclear family.”

This redefinition limited the possibility of visas, temporary or otherwise, for adult siblings or children, aging parents, and other relatives.

1996: Proposition 209
Used to amend the California’s state constitution from considering race, sex, or ethnicity successfully crippling the state’s affirmative action equal opportunity policies that tutored, mentored, and reached out to the women and minorities in universities and businesses statewide.

Since being voted into law, opponents of the proposition have noted that college enrollment among Latinos and African-Americans has dropped.

1998: Proposition 227
California passed Prop 227, which requires all public school instruction be conducted in English, unless parents show that the child has special needs or would learn English faster through alternate instructional methods.

While severely restricting teachers in the use of primary language for instructing English learners, a study examining the initial impact of Prop 227 found that school districts statewide with a history of bilingual education programs and certified staff were likely to continue their programs.