Presidential Executive Orders on Immigration

Just for the record, Barack Obama’s immigration executive order is nothing like those of Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush.

The following data is from a 2014 American Immigration Council summary of Executive Orders related to immigration:

1956 – Eisenhower – 923 orphans adopted by military families
1956-8 – Eisenhower – 31,914 Hungarians escaping Soviets
1959-72 – Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson & Nixon – 621,403 Cubans (legislation pending or passed)
1962-65 – Kennedy & Johnson – 15,100 Chinese
1975-79 – Ford & Carter – 360,000 Indochinese (via 10 authorizations & extensions)
1976 – Ford – 14,000 Lebanese granted work authorization
1977 – Carter – 250,000 “Silva letterholders”; expulsion suspended
1977-82 – Carter & Regan – 15,000 Ethiopians; extended voluntary departure
1977-80 – Carter – 50,000 Soviet refugees
1978 – Carter – unknown number of Ugandans
1979 – Carter – 3,600 Nicaruaguans; extended voluntary departure
1979 – Carter – unknown number of Iranians
1980 – Carter – unknown number of Afghans
1980 – Carter – 123,000 Cubans & Haitians (Mariel boatlift)
1981-87 – Reagan – 7,000 Poles; extended voluntary departure
1987 – Reagan – Up to 200,000 Nicaraguans (legislation pending)
1987 – Reagan – More than 100,000 unauthorized children/families
1989 – Bush Sr. – 80,000 Chinese
1989 – Bush Sr. – 2,225 Indochinese; 5,000 Soviets
1990 – Bush Sr. – 80,000 Chinese (1989 action extended)
1990 – Bush Sr. – 1.5 million (legislation passed by Senate)
1991 – Bush Sr. – 2,227 Persian gulf evacuees
1992 – Bush Sr, Clinton – 190,000 Salvadorans; DED extended until 1994
1994 – Clinton – 28,000 Cubans
1997 – Clinton – 40,000 Haitians (legislation pending)
1997 – Clinton – unknown number of immigrants under Violence Against Women Act (legislation pending)
1998 – Clinton – 150,000 Central Americans; deportations suspended in response to Hurricane Mitch
1999 – Clinton – 10,000 Liberians deportation delayed for one year
2002 – Bush – unknown number granted expedited naturalization
2005 – Bush – unknown number of foreign academic students deferred deportation due to Hurricane Katrina
2006 – Bush – 1,574 doctors under Cuban Medical Parole program
2007 – Bush – 3,600 Liberians deferred departure
2009 – Obama – unknown number of Liberians under DED
2009 – Obama – unknown number of widows and widowers of U.S. citizens and their unmarried children
2010 – Obama – unknown number of spouses, parents & children of U.S. citizen military members
2010 – Obama – unknown number of Haitian orphans
2011 – Obama – 3,600 Liberians under DED (extended from 2007)
2012 – Obama – Up to 1.8 million under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
2013 – Obama – Unknown number of spouses, parents, and children of U.S. citizen military members

The Patriot Post® · Presidential Executive Orders on Immigration