Asian Americans & the Development of U.S. Immigration Law: A Chronology

1790 The Naturalization Act of 1790 first established the process for becoming a naturalized citizen and restricted naturalization to “free white persons.”

1882 The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 provided for the exclusion of laborers from China for 10 years. The legislation allowed for the reentry of Chinese laborers already in the United States utilizing a “certificate of identity.”

1884 Congress makes “certificates of identity” mandatory in order for Chinese laborers to reenter the United States.

1888 Congress passes statute prohibiting the return of Chinese laborers who left the United States even with a “certificate of identity.” The constitutionality of the law was upheld in the Chinese Exclusion Case, Chae Chan Ping v. U.S., 130 U.S. 581 (1889).

1892 The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892 extended the exclusion of Chinese laborers for another 10 years and provided for the deportation of Chinese who did not hold a “certificate of identity.” The constitutionality of the law was upheld in Fong Yue Ting v. U.S., 149 U.S. 698 (1893).

1922 The Supreme Court holds that a person of Japanese ancestry is not “free white person” and is therefore ineligible to naturalize as a U.S. citizen. Ozawa v. U.S., 260 U.S. 178 (1922).

1923 The Supreme Court holds that a person of Indian ancestry is not a “free white person” and is therefore ineligible to naturalize as a U.S. citizen. U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923).

1924 The Immigration Act of 1924 effectively restricts all Asian immigration.

1943 The Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act (Magnuson Act) repealed the Chinese Exclusion Acts.

1946 The Luce-Cellar Bill granted rights to naturalization and limited immigration to Indians and Filipinos.

1952 The McCarran-Walter Act repealed race and national origin based restrictions to naturalization and allowed for a per country quota for countries in Asia.

1965 The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished racial and national origin quotas and established the basis for current immigration system allowing for the modern wave of Asian immigrants.

1975 The loss of the Vietnam War resulted in the migration of thousands of Vietnamese, ethnic Lao, Hmong, and Mien refugees.

1990 The Immigration Act of 1990 established the modern employment based immigration system and placed a cap on overall immigration.