A vivid, painted mural depicting hopeful immigrants from across the globe arriving in the U.S., with the Statue of Liberty and New York skyline in the background. Each face tells a story of courage, sacrifice, and the dream of a new beginning.
From Open Shores to Fortress Walls: The Changing Face of U.S. Immigration
By Janet Kira Lessin with Minerva for ElephantsInOurRooms.com
For centuries, the United States has told itself a proud story: that it is a land of immigrants, a beacon to the tired, poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free. But that story, while emotionally resonant, was never entirely true—and never static. In reality, immigration policy in the United States has been a shifting target, oscillating between welcome and rejection, between need and fear, and between economic utility and political backlash.
As we find ourselves in a political moment where immigration is under tighter control than ever—where even legal pathways have been obstructed under what many call Trumpism—it is worth asking: Were we ever truly a country that accepted everyone? And what does that myth tell us about who we were, who we are, and who we wish to become?
🛶 1600s–1700s: Colonial Experiment and Forced Migration
Initially, there were no immigration laws because the United States did not exist. The so-called “New World” was an open colonial experiment, a vast continent largely viewed by European powers as a resource to exploit. The land was inhabited, of course, by Native peoples whose displacement and genocide formed the first and most brutal immigration policy of all.
The British Empire sent settlers to the colonies, but it also shipped convicts, indentured servants, and political prisoners to places like Virginia and Maryland. Between 1718 and 1776, historians estimate that over 50,000 British prisoners were sent to North America. While America was never officially a penal colony like Australia, it functioned as a dumping ground for Britain’s unwanted for a time.
Meanwhile, millions of Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas via the transatlantic slave trade—no choice, no screening, just shackles. They were immigrants in the most unwilling, inhumane sense of the word.
🧭 Late 1700s–1800s: Nation-Building and Selective Openness
Description: A bustling historical scene showing thousands of immigrants disembarking at Ellis Island, the iconic Beaux-Arts immigration station. Families with trunks and bundles move toward processing under the American flag, as a steamship waits dockside—a symbol of America’s once-open gates.
After the U.S. declared independence in 1776, immigration remained largely unregulated. The young nation needed bodies—workers, settlers, soldiers—and it got them. The 1790 Naturalization Act offered citizenship to “free white persons” of “good character,” signaling early racial exclusivity that would harden over time.
The 1800s saw massive immigration, especially from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe, driven by famine, war, and economic collapse. But even as Ellis Island opened its gates in 1892, welcoming 12 million immigrants over the next six decades, suspicion simmered beneath the surface.
- Chinese immigrants, who had helped build the railroads, were excluded outright in 1882 with the Chinese Exclusion Act—the first law to ban a specific ethnic group.
- Southern and Eastern Europeans were seen as racially inferior to Anglo-Saxons.
- Political radicals (socialists, anarchists) were turned away or deported.
So while the poem on the Statue of Liberty proclaimed, “Give me your tired, your poor,” the government quietly carved out who was worthy of being American.
🚢 Early 1900s: Quotas, Eugenics, and Gatekeeping
A 1920s immigration official, in uniform and sepia tones, concentrates as he inspects a detailed ship manifest. Shelves of records line the walls behind him, capturing the meticulous bureaucracy behind who would be admitted—or rejected—at America’s ports.
By the early 20th century, immigration was not only regulated—it was racially engineered. The Immigration Act of 1924 imposed strict quotas favoring Northern and Western Europeans and completely excluded Asians. The law was rooted in eugenics theory and aimed to preserve what lawmakers called “American racial stock.”
Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler’s rise in the 1930s were often denied entry, a moral failure that still haunts U.S. history. And during World War II, Japanese Americans were interned, even if they were citizens.
This period marked the closing of the Golden Door.
🗽 1965–1990s: Civil Rights Reforms and a Brief Reopening
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, signed by Lyndon Johnson, abolished the racist quota system, opening the door to immigrants from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. For a few decades, immigration policy aligned more closely with American ideals. Family reunification and skilled labor visas became pillars of the system.
By the 1980s, Ronald Reagan offered amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants—an action few conservatives would consider today. Immigration became more multicultural, more global, and more reflective of the modern world.
🛂 2001–2016: Post-9/11 Fear and a Shifting Tone
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, marked another turning point. Immigration security tightened dramatically. The newly formed Department of Homeland Security and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) began to surveil, detain, and deport with greater intensity.
While George W. Bush and Barack Obama maintained some legal immigration pathways, they also presided over millions of deportations. The tone was changing. Immigration was no longer just about opportunity—it was increasingly about fear, control, and “vetting.”
🚧 2016–2024: Trumpism and the Age of Exclusion
Description: A modern photograph of the tall, rust-toned U.S.-Mexico border wall stretching across a dry, desert landscape. A sign warns “NO TRESPASSING” in English and Spanish. The wall is both a physical barrier and a symbol of today’s harsh immigration policies.
Donald Trump campaigned on building a wall and banning Muslims. As president, he slashed refugee admissions, ended DACA protections, and enforced family separations at the border. He tried to end asylum as we know it, turned away thousands, and reduced legal immigration to historic lows.
Under Trumpism, immigration is portrayed as a threat, not a contribution. Even legal immigrants are scrutinized or discouraged, especially from non-European nations.
Although Joe Biden reversed some of Trump’s actions, many of the restrictive policies remain embedded. Courts, Congress, and public opinion are sharply divided. Today, the border remains a political battleground.
📉 Today: Is Immigration Still Happening?
Yes—but barely.
- The U.S. resettled less than 60,000 refugees in 2023, compared to over 200,000 per year in the 1980s.
- Asylum seekers face long waits and dangerous conditions.
- Green card and visa processing backlogs stretch years.
- Many pathways to citizenship have been slowed or frozen.
And under Trumpism’s lingering shadow, even lawful immigration is stigmatized. The idea that “we once accepted everyone” is now weaponized to falsely suggest that the past was too open, and the present must now be closed.
🧠 Conclusion: The Myth and the Mirror
We were never a country that accepted everyone. But we were once a country that aspired to do better. The golden door was always cracked, never wide open—but it did swing on the hinges of courage and compassion, however imperfectly.
Today, that door threatens to slam shut entirely. What happens next is up to us.
Do we return to the dream—or build higher walls?
🏷️ Tags:
immigration history, Trumpism, Ellis Island, asylum seekers, refugee policy, United States immigration, American dream, immigration reform, border politics, immigration myth, political history, multiculturalism
A sweeping image showing immigrants arriving at Ellis Island on the left and the U.S.-Mexico border wall on the right. The American flag bridges both scenes—bright on one side, tattered on the other—symbolizing the nation’s shift from welcome to restriction.
