By a separate executive order, President Theodore Roosevelt prohibits secondary migration by Japanese from Hawaii to the mainland. The effect is to favor Northern Europeans at the expense of Southern and Eastern Europeans. Immigration quotas will be based on the ethnic makeup of the U.S. population as a whole in 1920. The new national-origins quota system is even more discriminatory than the 1921 version. For the first time, however, Congress sets aside minimum annual quotas for all countries, opening the door to numerous nationalities previously kept out on racial grounds.
Naturalization now requires ability to read and write, as well as speak and understand, English.
Each country, regardless of ethnicity, will receive an annual quota of 20,000, under a ceiling of 170,000. Annual ceilings for quota admissions would be raised over the years, most recently to 700,000 in 1990. Immigration Reform and Control Act gives amnesty to approximately three million undocumented residents. For the first time, the law punishes employers who hire persons who are here illegally. The aim of employer sanctions is to make it difficult for the undocumented to find employment.