More to the Story

• Page Act of 1875: Restricted immigration of forced laborers from Asia.
• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882: Halted all legal immigration of Chinese except merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplomats and is considered the first major exclusionary immigration restriction on a nationality by the USG. This law remained in force until the passage of the Magnuson Act of 1943 which allowed 105 Chinese immigrants annually. The Nationality Act of 1952 abolished direct racial barriers
• Immigration Act of 1882: First federal law regarding immigration in general.  It established a “head tax” of 50 cents for every non-US citizen entering every port of entry to the USA. The resulting funds were to be used to defray the administrative expenses of the act itself.  The second aspect of the act was to grant to the immigration authorities the power to reject any convict, lunatic, idiot, or any person unable to take care of him or herself without becoming a public charge.  If such a person were found, returning that person to their place of embarkment was the responsibility of the ship that brought them.  Thus, there was de facto immigration clearance at both embarkment and debarkment.   In an interesting twist, however, persons convicted of “political offenses'' were not excluded as the United States was regarded as a haven for those persecuted for their thoughts.
  • This act was different from the two earlier acts in that rather than being excluded by race or nationality, it was exclusion by class- the poor, the sick, the disabled were not wanted.  So much for the inscription on the Statue of Liberty!!
• The Immigration Act of 1917, aka the Literacy Act or the Burnett Act. The battle to require literacy as a requirement for admission to the US had been waged by various groups since 1894, often passed by Congress but vetoed by Presidents until finally it was passed by overriding President Wilson’s veto.  In addition to expanding the list of “undesirables,” it required all immigrants over the age of 16 to pass a literacy test which was defined as being able to read 30-40 words of their own language from an ordinary text. This act also created an Asiatic barred zone that included much of Asia and the Pacific Islands, excluding Japan and the Philippines.  Certain professions were exempted.
• Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act). Between 1917 and 1921 the immigration laws had been tweaked by  establishing a quota system based on the composition by nationality as reflected in the 1910 census. It did not establish quotas of any kind for the Western Hemisphere. As passed, the 1924 act established a quota system of 2 % of the foreign born in the country as of the 1890 census.  It also excluded any immigrants who would not be eligible for citizenship, i.e., people of Asian lineage including Japanese. The new law favored British and Western European immigration by tracing the origins of the entire US population, including those natural born.
• Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, aka McCaran-Walter Act. This legislation consolidated various previous acts and (1) abolished previous racial restrictions, (2 retained a quota system for nationalities, and (3) distinguished three types of immigrants: those with special skills; those who had US citizen family members; others not to exceed 270,000 per year; and refugees. The act was passed over the veto of President Truman. The act resulted in 70% of immigrants coming from Northern Europe.
• Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, aka Hart-Celler Act. This act totally revolutionized immigration law in the US by eliminating the quota system and prioritizing family unification which in itself resulted in another form of discrimination known as chain migration. Immigration to the US has increased from 4.7% as a share of the entire population in 1960 to 13.8% in 2020. (Census Bureau data).  The first decennial census in which data were collected on the nativity of the population was 1850, at which time it was 9.7%.  The highest percentages have occurred in 1870, 1890, and 1910 when they all exceeded 14%.  Most immigrant visas are issued after a relative or employer sponsors them and a Consular Officer of the Department of State adjudicates the case.   Reflecting most recent data available, in 2021 the largest number of immigrant visas issued were to citizens of Mexico - 40,600 or 15%, followed by China at 18,500.

IMMIGRATION RECORDS

Documentation of immigrants entering the United States before 1819 is scant and irregular, as there was no one entity responsible for doing so.  The Steerage Act of 1819 required that the master of a ship carry a manifest of passengers boarded at a foreign port.  The Immigration Act of 1891 required the same information for persons entering overland from Canada and Mexico. This was important because about 40% of foreign passengers arriving in Canada were actually bound for the United States.  The National Archives  has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between about 1820 and 1982, arranged by port or airport of arrival. There is no airport arrival information after 1970. Specific information about arrivals by ship or plane 1820-1959 can be obtained by completing Form NATF 81, except arrival records are restricted due to personally identifiable information for 75 years and can only be obtained by filing a request through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).