• The Immigration Act of 1990, a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It increased total, overall immigration to allow 700,000 immigrants to come to the U.S. per year for the fiscal years '92–'94, and 675,000 per year after that.

• Senate revises immigration policy easing entry restrictions for entire classes of people, like communists, homosexuals and people with AIDS to the U.S.

Congress approves a $171 million immigration package: to boost patrols along the border and fund a new $11 million detention facility in greater San Francisco.

• NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement. Tariffs are eliminated progressively and all duties and quantitative restrictions, with the exception of those on a limited number of agricultural products traded with Canada, are eliminated by 2008.

• Border Patrol Strategic Plan, 1994 and Beyond, National Strategy. Basis: Prevention through deterrence.

• Operation Gatekeeper was a measure aimed at halting illegal immigration to the United States at the United States–Mexico border near San Diego, California. According to the INS, the goal is to restore integrity and safety to the nations busiest border.

• Proposition 187 (also known as the Save Our State (SOS) initiative) is a ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit undocumented immigrants from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the State of California.

• The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, H.R. 3355 is an Act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the United States and consisted of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs, which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers.

• Congress gives final approval for the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 designed to crack down on illegal immigration, adding a 14 mile long fence along the San Diego border.

• Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 287(g) makes it possible for state and local law enforcement personnel to enter into agreements with the federal government to be trained in immigration enforcement and, subsequent to such training, to enforce immigration law.

• Federal Judge strikes down Prop 187.

• NARCA Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. This act gave permanent residence to some undocumented Nicaraguans, Cubans, Guatemalans, Salvadorians, and some Soviet Bloc countries.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judge's injunction blocking deportations during a lawsuit over a new law severely limiting eligibility for future legal residency.

• California Health and Safety Code Section 11369 is implemented “Requiring agency arresting individual for drug crimes to notify the agency of the United States having charge of deportation matters; if there is reason to believe the individual may not be a citizen of the United States.”

• The Clinton administration proposes a plan to extend citizenship to about 500,000 undocumented immigrants.

• The Federal government hands out H1B a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ graduate level workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as in IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc

• Bush establishes the Office of Homeland Security (OHS). OHS manages the EPA Intelligence Enterprise and provides Agency-wide leadership and coordination for homeland security policy; including EPA’s planning, prevention, preparedness, and response for homeland security-related incidents.

• The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush. With its ten-letter abbreviation (USA PATRIOT) expanded, the full title is Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.

• Governor Gray Davis signed into law Assembly Bill 540 adding a new section to the California Education Code. It created a new exemption from the payment of non-resident tuition for certain non-resident students who have attended high school in California and received a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 - Greater scrutiny for visa applications, extensive data sharing between agencies, foreign student monitoring program.

• H.R. 946, the Mass Immigration Reduction Act, introduced by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), would bring about a major reduction in immigration for a fixed period of time. H.R. 946 would have reduced annual immigration from its current level of close to one million a year to closer to 300,000.

• he Border Patrol Strategic Plan is revamped to control U.S. borders to prevent entry into the United States of terrorists and terrorist weapons.

• Interior Repatriation Program, an experimental initiative that lets undocumented immigrants from Mexico volunteer for the program, returning home via charter aircraft from Tucson, Arizona to Mexico City.

• The DHS and USCIS must issue only machine-readable, tamper-resistant visas.

• Homeland Security Appropriations Act goes into effect. Signed by Bush, it includes $419.2 million in new funding to enhance border and port security.

• The REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses.”

• Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal immigration Control Act. This bill was brought to the floor but was not passed. The bill included stricter enforcement of undocumented immigrants in the interior of the country and on the border. The bill was the catalyst for the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests and was the first piece of legislation passed by a House of Congress in the United States illegal immigration debate.

• Secure Fence Act allows for over 700 miles of double-reinforced fence to be built along the border with Mexico, in the U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

• A San Francisco illegal immigration opponent has sued the city's police chief and police commissioners for failing to comply with a state law that requires officers to tell federal authorities about all suspected non-citizens who are arrested on drug charges.

• Comprehensive Immigration Reform act of 2007. Again this bill did not pass on the floor, but the main points of the bill included more border security and a path to citizenship for a large amount of undocumented immigrants.

• Secure Communities is an American deportation program that relies on partnership among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

• The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is a United States legal framework that requires all travelers to show a valid passport or other approved secure document when traveling to the U.S. from areas within the Western Hemisphere. The purpose is to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for both legitimate U.S. citizens and foreign visitors.

• Arizona Bill SB 1070 signed into law, expanding the State’s authority to combat undocumented immigration.

Barack Obama expands the Secure Communities program to over 1210 jurisdictions.The program started in 2008 under George W. Bush with 14 jurisdictions.

• President Obama Signs Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to allow some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to stay in the country.

• ICE issued a new immigration detainer form I-247 and new policy guidance regarding immigration detainers.

• The Border Patrol Strategic Plan - The Mission: Protect America. The Strategic Plan uses a risk-based approach to securing the border; focusing enhanced capabilities against the highest threats and rapidly responding along the border. It means being more effective and efficient by using tools and methods like change- detection techniques to mitigate risks. It also means continued integration within CBP and working with Federal, state, local, tribal, and international partners.

• Ed Lee signs the Due Process for All law, which prohibits its law enforcement officers from cooperating with ICE detainer requests and the enforcement of federal immigration law.

• The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave un-prosecuted. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.

• Border Security, Economic opportunity, and Immigration Moderation Act, (s.744). This bill was introduced to the floor by Chuck Shumer and the “Gang of eight” which was a bipartisan group of senators. The bill passed in the Senate but was never take up in the House of Representatives. The bill called for more legal status to undocumented citizens, repealing the Diversity Lottery system, and more border patrol agents.

• The Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) is an ICE program that works with state and local law enforcement to identify non United States citizens who come in contact with state or local law enforcement, and remove those who are removable (either because their presence is unauthorized, or because they committed an aggravated felony).

• The TRUST Act (AB 4 – Ammiano) limits local jails from holding people for extra time just so they can be deported.

• In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, millions of documented and undocumented immigrants face increased uncertainty around their status in the United States. Immigrant rights organizations and leaders across the country have banded together and pooled resources to help immigrants and their allies obtain the current best-known information and guidance.

• The Obama administration has revived the undocumented immigrant “catch-and- release” policy of the Bush years, in which immigrants are released to a community while awaiting a hearing in immigration court. The policy officially ended in 2006 under President George W. Bush

• Buy American, Hire American executive order.  Donald Trump issued an executive order prioritizing federal use of American goods and services and directing changes in the process for issuing H-1B visas, which are visas for skilled foreign workers.

• New detainer form (I-247A) created by ICE will fulfill the requirement of Secretary Kelly’s February 20, 2017, memo, “Enforcement of the Immigrations Laws to Serve the national Interest” to “eliminate the existing detainer forms and replace them with a new form to more effectively communicate with recipient law enforcement agencies.”

• Trump sets up the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office under the Department of Homeland Security.

• The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act & would expand what is required of cities regarding federal immigrant enforcement and allow the government to deny jurisdictions federal law enforcement funds if they don’t comply.

• Kate & Law (named after Kate Steinle) increases maximum penalties for undocumented immigrants who repeatedly enter the country illegally after deportation, especially with criminal records.

• Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. The original order barred people from seven majority-Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya - from entering the US for 90 days. It also halted refugee resettlement for 120 days and banned Syrian refugees indefinitely.

• The Supreme Court's decision on 26 June means that people from six mainly Muslim nations and refugees will be temporarily barred from the US unless they have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the country.

• Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy, (RAISE) Act. The bill proposes to reduce levels of legal immigration in the U.S by 50 percent. The bill would also repeal the Diversity Lottery Program and impose a cap of 50,000 refugee admissions a year.

• Trump signed Executive Order 13768. This executive order increased the number of immigrants considered a priority for deportation. The order considers deportation for minor crimes or accused of such criminal activity.

• Trump announces the end of Temporary Protective Status to Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Salvadorians. Each of these countries would lose protective status of a large number immigrants in 2019.

• In January SB 54 became law in California, officially making California a sanctuary state.

• Trump calls for zero-tolerance policy and family separation on the Mexican border. The Trump administration began separating minor children from their parents who were crossing the border or seeking asylum.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS) reported that in May they had 10,773 migrant children in its custody.

• Trump creates an executive order called, Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation. The order calls for DHS to maintain custody of parents and children jointly. The order also instructs the justice department to repeal Flores Agreement which limits the amount of time for holding children and children and their parents.

• In August a U.S. Appeals court struck down an effort by the Trump Administration to cut funding to Sanctuary Cities by executive order. The court called it unconstitutional.