1. HST 175 “a nation of immigrants and immigrant exclusion”
Michele Brewster
Oct/Nov 2016

2. Naturalization Act of 1790 March 26, 1790:
Limited naturalization to U.S. citizenship to “free white immigrants of good character”

3. 1798 Alien Act
Allowed for the deportation of persons from abroad deemed “dangerous” by federal authorities
Foner, Page 303

4. 1868: Initial Unrestricted Chinese Immigration
1868: Congress passed a law allowing unrestricted Chinese immigration
The Railroad Act had been passed in 1862
The Chinese proved to be an efficient workforce in the specific task of railroad construction

5. 1875 Page Law
Congress forbids entry of Chinese, Japanese, and "Mongolian" prostitutes, felons, and contract laborers.

6. 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act Prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers
Renewed in 1892
Made permanent in 1902
Not repealed until 1943
: San Francisco Chinese population went from 26,000 to 11,000
Chan Kiu San, 1904, “They call it exclusion; but it is not exclusion, it is extermination.”
Downward migration of jobs to less skilled jobs
1882: Exclusion Act: most migration closed for owmen
Merchant’s wives, house servants prostitutes
Arnold Genthe

7. 1885 Alien Contract Labor Law
Halted US employers from sponsoring foreign laborers
To ostensibly stop undermining wages of US workers
Extension of the Chinese exclusion act, includes anti-Asian sentiments
Blocked entry of indentured or contract laborers
Those recruited, assisted and bonded by employers
Page 44 Bengali Harlem

8. 1898: Wong Kim Ark v. United States
U.S.-born Chinese cannot be stripped of their citizenship.

9. 1905: Section 60 of California's Civil Code
Amended to forbid marriage between whites and "Mongolians."

10. 1907: Gentlemen’s Agreement
Japan will not issue passports to U.S.-bound workers

11. 1913: California Alien Land Law
"aliens ineligible to citizenship" cannot buy land or lease for more than three years
Other states follow.

12. Immigration Restriction Act of 1917 or “Asiatic Barred Zone Act”
Adult immigrants who failed a reading test were denied admission into the U.S.
Immigrants not allowed from"barred zone" area: India, Afghanistan, Arabia, E. Indies
The Impact and Changes Wrought by World War I

13. 1922: Cable Act
American female citizen who marries "alien ineligible to citizenship" loses her citizenship
Later amended in 1931 so her husband can be naturalized

14. 1922: Takao Ozawa v. U.S.
Japanese ineligible for naturalized citizenship

15. 1923: U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind
Thind argued he was “Caucasian” arguing based on the Indo-European racial category
The Supreme Court denied him this claim
Asian Indians ineligible for naturalized citizenship
Closed off Asian pathway to citizenship

16. 1924 Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
Denied entry to virtually all Asians
# of immigrants limited to 2% of total population according to the 1890 census
Did not affect immigration from western hemisphere
Restricted overseas immigration to the U.S. leaving labor shortages
Created strong demand for Mexican workers to come to the U.S.

17. Immigration Restriction Act of 1917 or “Asiatic Barred Zone Act”
All adult immigrants who failed a reading test would be denied admission into the U.S.
Banned those from India, Afghanistan, Arabia, E. Indies (even if they could pass a reading test)

18. Immigration Restriction Act of 1921
Numerical limits on immigration using quotas based on the National Origins Formula:
3% of the number of residents from that same country living in the U.S. per the census of 1910
Set no limits on immigration from Latin America
Did not apply to Asian countries listed in the Immigration Act of 1917
“Asiatic Barred Zone Act”

19. 1924 National Origins Act or Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
Aliens ineligible for citizenship could not enter
Number of immigrants limited to 2% of total population according to the 1890 census
Immigration from the western Europe not hurt as bad
Left labor shortages
Created a strong demand for Mexican and Filipino workers, esp. Hawaii & California
Page 143 in Little Manila:
“As historians of American immigration policy have pointed out, the testimonies of eugenicists and so called scientists of race who claimed that the entry of nonwhites would be devastating to the racial makeup of the nation played a central role in the 1924 Immigration Act and the law that eventually excluded Filipinas/os…David Barrows of Univ of CA, C.M. Goethe of Sacramento characterized Filipinos as jungle folk who were vain, lazy, and arrogant.

20. 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act
Senator Millard Tydings of Maryland and Rep. John McDuffie of Alabama authored the bill
Gradual PI independence in 10 yrs (1944)
Status from nationals to aliens
Limited PI immigration to 50 Filipina/os per yr
See page 144 of Little Manila

21. 1943 Magnuson Act Repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act
China and the U.S. allied vs. Japan
Chinese already living in the U.S. allowed to naturalize as citizens
To counter Japanese propaganda re: American racism
Chinese still not allowed to own property
Allowed a quota of 105 Chinese immigrants / yr
Did NOT repeal immigration restrictions on all other Asian countries

22. 1952: Mc-Carron Walter Act
Ended racial restriction of the 1790 Naturalization Act
For the first time, non-whites allowed to naturalize as citizens
Kept in place the national quota system of 1924 (2% of the 1890 census)
Allowed immigrants from Asia to enter, overturning the 1917 “Asiatic Barred Zone”
Called for the deportation of anyone labeled as subversive, with known communist leanings, or with “moral turpitude” (gays, lesbians, psychopathic personality disorder)
(dramatic rise of social workers after 1955 per Meyerowitz and Kunzel)
Dec 1945: Congress Passed Public Law 271 (War Brides Act): Allowed German and Italian wives of American servicemen to migrate to the U.S.
1947: Congress granted immigration rights to Japanese wives of U.S. servicemen stationed in Japan

23. 1965 Hart-Cellar Act President Johnson
Immigration quotas by place of origin, NOT quotas of 1924 (1890)
Favored scientists, engineers, and businesspeople, (trade and foreign policy)
Based on immigrants’ skills and family relationships with U.S. residents
Essentially maintained exclusion of working-class immigrants
170 K immigrants/yr allowed from the E. Hemisphere
120 K immigrants/yr allowed from the W. Hemisphere
I960: 75% of new immigrants came from Europe
1999:
51% of new immigrants came from Latin America
27% from Asia
16% from Europe
Post 1965 Immigration: PI, India, Korea, SE Asian Refugees
See page 5 in Bengali Harlem