Timelines

Migration is a natural part of living systems, and human history is no exception. Yet it remains one of the most debated public issues of our time.

Both people and borders move. Who is allowed to move, and who is granted rights, lies at the heart of how nations define belonging. In Germany and the United States alike, these debates have been deeply intertwined with evolving ideas of race and ethnicity.

These timelines trace how citizenship and belonging have been constructed, challenged, and redefined through laws, social movements, global events, and cultural works — and how those histories continue to shape the present.

1980

Increased Asylum as U.N. Definition of Refugee Adopted

The 1980 Refugee Act was prompted by a surge in refugees and streamlined the U.S. admissions process, incorporating the UN's refugee definition into law. It offered relief to refugees from various regions, created the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program, and challenged the Cold War-era practice of favoring communist country refugees. It expanded the annual admission ceiling from 17,400 to 50,000 and increased assistance for newcomers. In 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno extended the act to recognize lesbians and gays as a "social group," marking a crucial step toward inclusion and protection for LGBTQ+ refugees.

National Archives Foundation

The First Page to the Refugee Act of 1980.

The Refugee Act of 1980 was passed unanimously by Senate in late 1979 and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. This act was passed as a result of members of Congress wanting a more regulated system of immigration following the large numbers of immigration following the Vietnam War.

United States

Sources

The Refugee Act. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.
Deborah E. Anker, Michael H. Posner,. “Forty Year Crisis: A Legislative History of the Refugee Act of 1980”. San Diego L. Rev. 19. Edition 9. 1981.
Daniel Tichenor. Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in America. USA: Princeton University Press, 2009.

Related Events

1952

Cold War Spurs Immigration Restrictions, Repeals Race-Based Exclusions

1973

Paris Peace Accords & Southeast Asian Refugees

1980

Central American Civil Wars & Refugees

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