How did Latin American immigration to the United States change during the 1960s?
1 Answer
Immigration became more difficult and fewer legal immigrants came to the US.
Explanation:
Partially fueled by the Immigration Act of 1965, the United States tightened and complicated its immigration policies which then reduced the number of immigrants that entered the USA.
Known as the Hart-Celler Act, it abolished the quota system based on national origins that had been American immigration policy since the 1920s. The 1965 Act marked a change from past U.S. policy which had discriminated against non-northern Europeans. In removing racial and national barriers the Act would significantly, and unintentionally, alter the demographic mix in the U.S.
The new law maintained the per-country limits, but also created preference visa categories that focused on immigrants' skills and family relationships with citizens or U.S. residents. The bill set numerical restrictions on visas at 170,000 per year, with a per-country-of-origin quota. However, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and "special immigrants" had no restrictions.
