When Was The Last Time Immigration Laws Were Changed

The Clearing Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Human action)

Introduction

The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United states through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United states of america as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.

President Coolidge signing the Johnson-Reed Act

Literacy Tests and "Asiatic Barred Zone"

In 1917, the U.Southward. Congress enacted the first widely restrictive immigration police force. The doubtfulness generated over national security during Globe State of war I made it possible for Congress to laissez passer this legislation, and it included several important provisions that paved the way for the 1924 Act. The 1917 Act implemented a literacy test that required immigrants over 16 years erstwhile to demonstrate basic reading comprehension in any linguistic communication. Information technology as well increased the tax paid past new immigrants upon arrival and allowed immigration officials to do more discretion in making decisions over whom to exclude. Finally, the Act excluded from entry anyone born in a geographically defined "Asiatic Barred Zone" except for Japanese and Filipinos. In 1907, the Japanese Government had voluntarily limited Japanese immigration to the United States in the Gentlemen'due south Agreement. The Philippines was a U.S. colony, so its citizens were U.S. nationals and could travel freely to the United States. People's republic of china was not included in the Barred Zone, but the Chinese were already denied immigration visas nether the Chinese Exclusion Deed.

Immigration Quotas

The literacy test solitary was non enough to prevent most potential immigrants from entering, so members of Congress sought a new way to restrict immigration in the 1920s. Immigration expert and Republican Senator from Vermont William P. Dillingham introduced a measure to create immigration quotas, which he fix at three pct of the full population of the foreign-born of each nationality in the United states as recorded in the 1910 census. This put the total number of visas available each year to new immigrants at 350,000. It did not, however, establish quotas of whatsoever kind for residents of the Western Hemisphere. President Wilson opposed the restrictive act, preferring a more than liberal clearing policy, and then he used the pocket veto to preclude its passage. In early on 1921, the newly inaugurated President Warren Harding chosen Congress back to a special session to laissez passer the law. In 1922, the act was renewed for some other two years.

Senator William P. Dillingham

When the congressional debate over clearing began in 1924, the quota system was so well-established that no 1 questioned whether to maintain it, but rather discussed how to adjust it. Though there were advocates for raising quotas and allowing more people to enter, the champions of restriction triumphed. They created a plan that lowered the existing quota from iii to two percent of the foreign-born population. They also pushed back the year on which quota calculations were based from 1910 to 1890.

Another change to the quota contradistinct the basis of the quota calculations. The quota had been based on the number of people born outside of the United States, or the number of immigrants in the United States. The new constabulary traced the origins of the whole of the U.S. population, including natural-born citizens. The new quota calculations included large numbers of people of British descent whose families had long resided in the United States. As a outcome, the percentage of visas available to individuals from the British Isles and Western Europe increased, but newer immigration from other areas similar Southern and Eastern Europe was limited.

The 1924 Immigration Act also included a provision excluding from entry any conflicting who past virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship. Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian lineage from naturalizing. As a event, the 1924 Human activity meant that fifty-fifty Asians not previously prevented from immigrating – the Japanese in particular – would no longer be admitted to the United states of america. Many in Japan were very offended by the new law, which was a violation of the Gentlemen's Understanding. The Japanese authorities protested, but the law remained, resulting in an increase in existing tensions between the two nations. Despite the increased tensions, it appeared that the U.S. Congress had decided that preserving the racial limerick of the country was more important than promoting good ties with Nihon.

The restrictive principles of the Act could take resulted in strained relations with some European countries every bit well, just these potential problems did not announced for several reasons. The global depression of the 1930s, Globe State of war 2, and stricter enforcement of U.Southward. clearing policy served to curtail European emigration. When these crises had passed, emergency provisions for the resettlement of displaced persons in 1948 and 1950 helped the United States avoid conflict over its new immigration laws.

In all of its parts, the most basic purpose of the 1924 Clearing Act was to preserve the ideal of U.South. homogeneity. Congress revised the Act in 1952.