Immigration Laws & Policies
Bains News Service, publisher, "Ellis Island," undated
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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LEGISLATING IMMIGRATION
"Immigrant Family at Ellis Island, Looking at New York Skyline," 1925
Courtesy of Bettman Archives/Getty Images (Download here)
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Immigrants look to America for a variety of reasons: economic opportunity, religious freedom, and escape from political prosecution. From the nation's founding to the early 1900s, the face and makeup of American immigrants change, from Irish and German immigrants in the mid-1800s to southern and eastern European immigrants (e.g, from Italy, Russia, Poland, etc.) in the late 1800s through World War I.
By 1920, for the first time in our nation's history, more Americans live in cities than in rural areas. Factors such as industrialization, transportation improvements, and technological advancements define the urban landscape. Early immigration laws address the logistics of immigration: navigation, passenger control, and inspection. Subsequent immigration laws institute federal control over the process, including enforcement and classification of "aliens."
As U.S. immigration explodes during the Ellis Island era (starting in 1892), American legislators face a multitude of concerns vis-a-vis immigrants: 1) the economic displacement of "real" Americans by foreigners, 2) national movements, such as the Immigration Restriction League and the Ku Klux Klan, espousing "America first" policies, and 3) perceived threats of foreign radicalism on our shores due to political unrest and revolution in Europe. From quota restrictions, exclusions, and war refugees, see below for a discussion of significant immigration laws enacted through the end of World War II.
“As each new wave of immigration has reached America, it has been faced with problems... Somehow, the difficult adjustments are made and people get down to the tasks of earning a living, raising a family, living with their neighbors, and in the process, building a nation."
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The Steerage Act of 1819 regulates the conditions of transportation for people arriving and departing by sea. It requires ship captains to prepare and deliver a manifest with passenger demographic information to the district collector (the first customs records to track the national origin of immigrants). The Act: 1) requires the reporting of the number and names of individuals who die in passage, 2) imposes a stiff penalty—$150 or $2,500 in 2024 dollars—for each passenger in excess of two people for every five tons of ship weight, and 3) mandates minimum provisions of 60 gallons of water and 100 lbs of “wholesome ship bread” per passenger for ships leaving U.S. ports for Europe but not for immigrant vessels arriving in America.
"Immigrants Taking a Meal Aboard a Crowded Ship Bound for America, ca. 1870s
Courtesy of Mansell - The Life Picture Collection, Getty Images
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"Men, Women, & Children in Bunks Between Deck on Board An Immigrant Ship in the mid-19th Century," undated
Courtesy of Express Images, Getty Images
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The Carriage of Passenger Act of 1855 more strictly regulates conditions on board arriving ships by addressing: 1) density limits (e.g. “no more than one passenger for every two tons of ship burden), 2) the design of decks and berths, 3) ventilators, and 4) safety regulations, etc. Minimum per passenger foodstuff requirements are upgraded to: 1) 20 pounds of “good navy bread,” 2) 15 pounds of rice, 3) 15 pounds of oatmeal, 4) 10 pounds of wheat flour, 5) 15 pounds of peas and beans, 6) 20 pounds of potatoes, 7) one pint of vinegar, 8) 60 gallons of fresh water, 9) 10 pounds of salted pork, and 10) 10 pounds of salt beef. In addition, immigrants must now provide information regarding their destination in the U.S.
The Immigration Act of 1882 institutes the practice of examining immigrants before they are granted legal entrance into the U.S. State governments conduct medical inspections of incoming aliens via boards of commissioners and other officials who work under contract to the U.S. Customs Service. The inspections are not only intended to quarantine specific public health hazards, but also to identify certain classes of individuals deemed unacceptable to become U.S. citizens (i.e., convicted felons, lunatics, and paupers). Inspections are also conducted on board ships before immigrants are allowed to land. The Act imposes a 50 cent duty or head tax per alien passenger.
The Alien Contract Labor Law of 1885, also known as the "Foran Act," prohibits "the importation and migration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia." The following types of unskilled foreign alien workers are exempt from the prohibition: 1) foreigners brought to do domestic service, 2) skilled workers needed to help establish a new trade or industry, and 3) professional artists, lecturers and actors. Although legislated in an era of rising immigration restriction, the law is onerous to enforce because contract workers are difficult to identify at ports of entry.
Grant Hamilton, artist, "Where the blame lies, New York, Castle Clinton," 04-04-1891
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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Louis Dalyrymple, artist, "The High Tide of Immigration - A National Menace," Judge Magazine, 08-22-1903
Courtesy of Heritage Images via Getty Images
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"To Congress, a petition. Stop Promiscuous Immigration. Paupers, convicts, insane, contract labor," Harper's Weekly, 04-25-1891
Miriam & Ira Wallach Division of Art, New York Public Library Digital Collections
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The Immigration Act of 1891 focuses on immigration rules and enforcement mechanisms for foreigners arriving from countries other than China. (See the Chinese Exclusion Act on the Race-based Exclusion page for a discussion of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Chinese immigration.) The federal government assumes direct control of inspecting, admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the U.S.
The Act identifies new types of excludable aliens, including: 1) persons likely to become public charges, 2) persons suffering from certain contagious disease, 3) felons, persons convicted of other crimes or misdemeanors, 4) polygamists, and 5) aliens assisted by others by payment of passage.
In response to the ever-increasing administrative burden of overseeing immigration, the Act creates a federal immigration office--the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury Department--charged with enforcing immigration. The Superintendent oversees a new corps of U.S. Immigration Inspectors stationed at the country’s principal ports of entry to inspect immigrants upon arrival; these officers are empowered to deny immigrants entry to the U.S. if the immigrants fall into one of the excluded classes. Inspectors’ decisions are final unless appealed directly to the Superintendent of Immigration (later known as the Commissioner-General of Immigration).
The Immigration Act of 1893 revises the immigration enforcement protocols of the Immigration Act of 1881 by establishing Boards of Special Inquiry (BSIs) to review each exclusion case. The boards consist of three Immigration Inspectors who hear testimony and accept evidence in excluded immigrants’ cases. During these hearings, immigrants explain their situation and the reasons why they should be admitted. If the BSI upholds the exclusion, the immigrant is deported. Immigration Inspectors stationed at ports of entry often initially exclude immigrants under the “likely to become a public charge” category; BSIs typically overturn these exclusions if an immigrant aid society accepts responsibility for the immigrant. (Between 1892 and 1924, ten percent or more of arriving immigrants are detained every day for a BSI hearing.)
"Minutes of the Board of Special Inquiry at the INS San Francisco Office," July 1904
Records of the Immigration & Naturalization Service; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Ellis Island Special Inquiry Regarding Deportation of Giuseppe Giorni," 06-05-1915
Records of the Immigration & Naturalization Service; National Archives & Records Administration
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Per the Act of July 26, 1894, aliens who receive honorable discharges from U.S. Navy and Marines are not required to file declarations of intention for U.S. citizenship. Specific language follows:
"Any alien of the age of 21 years and upward who has enlisted or may enlist in the United States Navy or Marine Corps, and has served or may hereafter serve five consecutive years in the United States Navy or one enlistment in the United States Marine Corps, and has been or may hereafter be honorably discharged, shall be admitted to become a citizen of the United States upon his petition, without any previous declaration of his intention to become such; and the court 'admitting such alien shall, in addition to proof of good moral character, be satisfied by competent proof of such person's service in and honorable discharge from the United States Navy or Marine Corps."
Less than two years after an anarchist assassin kills President McKinley, Congress enacts legislation targeting anarchists for exclusion. The Immigration Act of 1903, also called the "Anarchist Exclusion Act," strengthens the government’s powers to pursue, round up, and deport anarchists found within the U.S. The Act adds four inadmissible classes: 1) anarchists, 2) people with epilepsy, 3) beggars, and 4) importers of prostitutes. It further allows for: 1) the deportation within two years of anyone unlawfully in the country, 2) the deportation of immigrants who became a public charge within their first two years in the country, and 3) raises the head tax on immigrants to the U.S. to $2.00.
Chief Executive [President McKinley] The Victim of Most Cowardly Anarchist," San Francisco Call, 09-07-1901
Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress
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"Anarchist Riot, Police on Horseback Driving People, Broadway & 14th Stress, New York,"1908
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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The Immigration Act of 1907 is part of a series of reforms aimed at restricting the increasing number and groups of immigrants coming into the U.S. before World War I. The law introduces and reforms a number of restrictions on immigrants who can be admitted into the U.S., most notably ones regarding disability and disease.
The Act mandates the exclusion of: 1) “imbeciles,” 2) “feeble-minded” persons, 3) individuals afflicted by a physical or mental disability that might impede their ability to earn a living, 4) those with tuberculosis, 5) children not accompanied by their parents, and 6) individuals who admit to having committed a crime. It also raises the head tax on immigrants to the U.S. to $4.00.
"Held at Ellis Island--undesirable emigrants to be taken back by steamship company that brought them. Ellis Island, New York," ca. 1902
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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Underwood & Underwood, copyright claimant, "Physicians Examining a Group of Jewish Immigrants," ca. 1907
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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Evans, Raymond Oscar, Artist, and John Held, " The Americanese wall - as Congressman Burnett would build it," 1916
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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Immigration Act of 1917
Immigration Act of 1917
February 5, 1917
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The Immigration Act of 1917 implements a literacy test that requires immigrants over 16 years old to demonstrate basic reading comprehension in any language. It also increases the tax paid by new immigrants upon arrival and allows immigration officials to exercise more discretion in making decisions over whom to exclude. It also seeks to bar immigration from the Asia-Pacific zone.
Literacy test card from the U.S. Government Printing Office, ca. 1920s
Statue of Liberty National Monument; National Park Service
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"Health Inspectors Examine Detainees on Angel Island, CA," ca. 1917
National Archives & Records Administration
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The Wartime Measures Act of 1918, also known as the "Travel Control Act" and the "Passport Act," deems wartime travel as an unlawful act when touring without a U.S. passport. Its primary objective is to "prevent in time of war departure from or entry into the United States contrary to the public safety."
It vests open-ended power in the President to impose restrictions on the entry and departure of persons within the jurisdiction of the U.S. when at war: "If the President shall find that the public safety requires that restrictions and prohibitions in addition to those provided otherwise than by this Act…it shall, until otherwise ordered by the President or Congress, be unlawful."
Stefan Hirsch passport, U.S. Department of State, 03-01-1922
Stefan Hirsch & Elsa Rogo papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
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Charles Waltensperger passport, U.S. Department of State, 06-19-1925
Charles Waltensperger papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
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The Immigration Act of 1918, also known as the "Dillingham-Hardwick Act," seeks to correct what President Woodrow Wilson's administration considers to be deficiencies in previous laws, specifically those concerning the government's ability to deport undesirable aliens, anarchists, communists, labor organizers, and similar activists. Ultimately, the Act gives the executive branch greater powers to enforce immigration restrictions during World War I. The Act considers people who enter or leave the U.S. in violation of the law as criminals, subject to fine or deportation. In addition, all U.S. citizens are required to have a passport when entering or leaving the country.
The Passport Act of 1920 establishes a fee schedule for identity documents and travel documents related to U.S. passports and visas. It repeals section one of the Expatriation Act of 1907, thereby discontinuing the issuance of passports to persons not declaring an American citizenship or renunciating citizenship in the continental U.S. In 1920, the cost of a passport is $10 plus the cost to sit for a photograph.
NOTE The Department of State only required passport use during two periods: 1) the American Civil War--August 19, 1861, to March 17, 1862--and 2) World War I--May 22, 1918 to March 3, 1921. (A Joint Resolution of March 3, 1921, terminates various wartime emergency laws and lifts the associated travel restrictions.)
Alice Trumbull passport, U.S. Department of State, ca. 1925
Alice Trumbull Mason papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
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"Abstract from Passport Regulations, U.S. Department of State," ca. mid-1920s
Alice Trumbull Mason papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
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The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 utilizes immigration statistics to determine a maximum number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States from each nation or region: an immigration "quota system." The quotas favor immigration from western European nations while severely curbing immigration from areas perceived to be undesirable.
Under the law, no more than 3 percent of the total number of immigrants from any specific country already living in the U.S.-- according to the 1910 decennial U.S. Census-- are allowed to migrate to the U.S. during any calendar year.
The Passport Act of 1926 repeals all previous passport laws and provides the U.S. Department of State authority to limit the validity of a passport or visa in accordance with the Immigration Act of 1924. The Act authorizes the issuance of U.S. passports and visas for the validity of two years from the date of issuance. The Division of Passport Control is renamed the Passport Division, and the Secretary of State is authorized to designate diplomatic and consular officials to issue passports.
Later in the year the State Department issues its first modern booklet-form passport; in an effort to enhance passport security, the State Department begins to use a machine to perforate a legend across the lower part of the photograph after it is attached to the passport.
Betty Parsons passport, U.S. Department of State, 12-18-1926
Betty Parsons Personal Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
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Rare U.S. Philippines Island Passport, Type 1929, with the new hard cover, introduced in 1926
Courtesy of Keesing Technologies Platform
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The Immigration Act of 1920 is passed in response to court rulings that decriminalized unlawful residence in the U.S. It makes unlawful residence a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in prison. The Act also includes the Registry Statute, which allows certain immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for many years to apply for a green card after extensive vetting.
Registry Files are opened between 1929 and 1944 to create arrival records for immigrants who arrived before 1924 but for whom no arrival record could be found. Most who applied for Registry did so to obtain the arrival record required for naturalization. Applicants had to prove they were resident in the U.S. prior to July 1, 1924.
"American Boy Meets British Girl- Love and Romance on the Home Front, Bournemouth, England," 1941
Courtesy of the Imperial War Museums
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[American soldiers, their European war brides and their children prepare to head up the steps to an American Overseas Airlines flight at the Rhein-Main airport for a trip to New York], October 1948
Courtesy of Stars & Stripes
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During World War II, over seven million Americans serve in the U.S. military. While many soldiers marry or engage partners abroad, restrictive U.S. immigration laws make no provision for them to bring their spouses and fiancés home. In fact, during and immediately after World War II, American servicemen marry between 60,000 to 70,000 women who hope to leave their old homes behind and rejoin their husbands for a new life in the U.S.
Intended to "to expedite the admission to the United States of alien spouses and alien minor children of citizen members of the United States armed forces," the War Brides Act of 1945: 1) exempts “War Brides” and their dependents from the quota systems of the Immigration Act of 1924, and 2) grants them free passage to journey to their new homes. Military spouses and fiances can now legally immigrate to the U.S. In fact, the first group of “War Brides” to arrive in the U.S. in early February 1946 hail from Great Britain.
The War Brides Act of 1946 (August 9, 1946) extends non-quota immigrant status to Chinese spouses. The Alien Fiancées and Fiancés Act of 1946 (June 29, 1946), also known as the G.I. Fiancée Act, serves as an extension of the War Brides Act that eliminates barriers for Filipino and Indian war brides; a 1947 amendment removes the barriers for Korean and Japanese war brides. Nearly 300,000 women and dependents make their way to the U.S. before the expiration of the “War Brides Acts” (and associated acts) in December 1948.
"Nurses Feed Refugee Civilians from Across Europe at the Displaced Persons Center in Briery, France," 10-02-1944
Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Jewish refugees, rescued from Auschwitz, arriving in Haifa in July, 1945"
Courtesy of AKG Archive
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Presidential Directive on Displaced Persons
Presidential Directive on Displaced Persons
December 22, 1945
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Truman Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration (Download here)
The Presidential Directive on Displaced Persons requires that existing immigration quotas be designated for displaced persons. Accordingly, President Truman authorizes the expedited admission of displaced persons and refugees within the framework of existing immigration law. Of the directive, President Truman writes,
“This is the opportunity for America to set an example for the rest of the world in cooperation toward alleviating human misery.”
At the President’s request, the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization travels to Europe to investigate and develop a plan for processing displaced persons. Ultimately, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the military, the Public Health Service, the Department of State, and numerous charitable organizations collaborate to facilitate the entry of over 40,000 displaced persons under the existing quota regulations.
While overall immigration into the U.S. did not increase, more Displaced Persons are admitted than before. About 22,950 Displaced Persons, of whom two-thirds are Jewish, enter the U.S. between December 22, 1945, and 1947.
Additionally, the President’s directive allows approximately 1,000 refugees already in the U.S. to adjust to lawful permanent resident status.
Letter, General Dwight D. Eisenhower to President Harry S. Truman [regarding displaced persons], 09-18-1945
Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Ambassador Edwin Pauley and Three Boys Born in Buchenwald Concentration Camp," ca. 1946
Truman Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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Arthur Gaeth, "Displaced Camp Report" (1945)
The Mutual Broadcasting Company
"WWII Displaced Persons 1945 Army Newsreel, #2 Navy Eidition"
The Army-Navy Screen Magazine
"Group of Children Play at Displaced Persons Farm, Furth, Germany," ca. July 1946
Truman Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Displaced persons enjoy a meal outside at a school for people with hearing or speaking disabilities in Geretsried," 1947 -1948
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Samuel B. Zisman
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Displaced Person Act of 1948
Displaced Person Act of 1948
December 28, 1948
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Legisworks (Download here)
The Displaced Persons Act of 1948, the first specific “refugee” act passed by Congress, seeks to address the nearly 7 million "Displaced Persons" in Europe as a result of World War II. The act allows refugees to enter the U.S. within the constraints of the existing quota system.
In an effort to further formalize and expand resettlement assistance for Displaced Persons, the act establishes the U.S. Displaced Persons Commission to oversee the allocation of visas. Non-governmental organizations assist with the resettlement process. American relief agencies such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee help Displaced Persons immigrate to many countries, including the U.S.
To receive a U.S. visa, Displaced Persons have to overcome many bureaucratic obstacles, including: 1) obtaining a clean bill of health, 2) finding someone in the U.S. to sponsor them financially after their arrival, and 3) obtaining a job that will not replace a worker already in the country.
The Displaced Persons Act expires in 1952. Under the Act, the U.S. admits more than 350,000 displaced persons. In its concluding report--Memo to America: The DP Story (view extract here)--published in August 1952, the U.S. Displaced Persons Commission states:
"The DP program had many facets. It was a far-reaching development in our foreign policy. It was a liberalized immigration law. It was a pioneering venture in mass resettlement. . . . It advanced our foreign policy, strengthened our NATO allies, and improved our own domestic economy."
"It also proved several important conclusions: First, it proved that immigration is good for the United States. Second, it proved that immigration is no longer purely a domestic matter but is an important and vital part of American foreign policy. Third, it proved our normal immigration laws, based upon quotas and national origins of prospective immigrants, prevent effective American participation in an international migration program."
Still from Film of Displaced Persons Boarding a Ship in Bremerhaven, Germany, 1948
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Julien Bryan
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Hugh Palmer, photographer, "A classroom at the Jewish displaced persons camp in Wetzlar [Germany], 09-09-1948
National Archives & Records Administration
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"Displaced Persons Arrive in the United States after WWII" (1946)
Courtesy of British Pathe'
"A Day of Deliverance, Clip 2" (1949)
Produced by American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)
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