When I was growing up, my family made trips to Toronto, Canada. My father was asked to meet with some Finnish families as a part of ministry. We became friends with these families. They had immigrated to Canada from Finland. They were unable to settle in the U.S. because the at that time, few people from Finland were allowed to immigrate. It was a phase in U.S. immigration policy.
When my Finnish grandparents came to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, great waves of immigrants were coming to fill the jobs in mines and factories. When they came, Finland was not a nation—it was under Russian rule. Finland achieved its independence in 1917.
In 1924 the Johnson-Reed Act limited immigration through a quota system. The number of people allowed to immigrate was based on the 1890 census, the quota allowed was 2% of people from that nation already here. You can read about the Immigration Act of 1924 here. The law allowed for very few Finnish immigrants.
With the current controversy over immigration, it is important to be aware of our country’s history. How does a nation establish order? Should laws be enforced? Is it important that immigrants assimilate and understand the laws of our country?
Sharing this post with the Five Minute Friday writing community. Kate’s prompt is: PHASE
Good thoughts. Many people creating chaos and controversy don’t understand history … it’s very important! visiting from fmf5
2% of people from that country already living here — what if there weren’t any?