Immigration Act of 1943
The Immigration Act of 1943 was a significant piece of legislation that marked a turning point in U.S. immigration policy regarding Asian nationals, particularly Chinese citizens. Prior to this act, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 had effectively banned Chinese immigration and naturalization, reflecting a broader pattern of exclusion aimed at Asians. However, the geopolitical landscape shifted during World War II, particularly with China emerging as an ally against Japan, which prompted a reevaluation of these restrictive immigration policies.
In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged Congress to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act and similar laws. The Immigration Act of 1943 not only allowed a limited number of Chinese immigrants to enter the U.S. but also permitted those already residing in the country to apply for naturalization as citizens, a first since the Naturalization Act of 1790. This act thus symbolized a significant, albeit modest, opening of the door for Asian immigration and laid the groundwork for further changes in U.S. immigration policies in the following decades. Its passage not only strengthened U.S.-China relations but also set a precedent that would eventually lead to more inclusive immigration laws, culminating in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which eliminated the national origins quota system altogether.
Immigration Act of 1943
The Law Federal law that repealed the Chinese Exclusion Acts, which since 1882 had prevented Chinese nationals from immigrating to the United States and seeking naturalization
Also Known As Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act; Magnuson Act
Date Signed into law on December 17, 1943
The act was passed at a time when the United States needed to promote goodwill with China, an ally during World War II. Its passage represented the first step toward liberalizing the immigration of Filipino and Asian Indians in 1946, and it led to passage of broader immigration acts in the years that followed.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 had made it virtually impossible for Chinese citizens to immigrate to the United States legally and to seek U.S. citizenship. Many Chinese nationals or their offspring then lived in the United States, mostly workers who arrived during California’s gold rush and who subsequently stayed to work in helping to build the transcontinental railroad system. The exclusion act and subsequent similar acts imposed staunch prohibitions on Chinese immigration and forbade any Asians from attaining U.S. citizenship.
During the 1940’s, the United States was drawn into World War II by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Many Americans were isolationists, and the Pearl Harbor attack aroused anti-Asian sentiments in many moderate Americans who distrusted all Asians because of the Japanese attack.
In 1943, because China had become a valued supporter of the United States against the Japanese aggressors, President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged Congress to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and similar exclusionary acts aimed specifically at the Chinese. Roosevelt sent a special message to Congress calling for the repeal of the exclusionary acts then in effect. On December 17, 1943, Congress voted in favor of the repeal and the president signed the act into law.
The Terms of the Repeal
A consummate politician, Roosevelt realized that the United States could garner the goodwill of China by repealing its former repressive immigration acts aimed specifically at the Chinese. Following his advice, Congress modeled the act of repeal on provisions set by the Immigration Act of 1924. This earlier act limited immigration from any country to 2 percent of the number of people from that country who were residents of the United States in 1890 or earlier—certainly a substantial restriction.
In the case at hand, the annual Chinese immigration to the United States under the terms of this policy would number 105, such a paltry number that even the xenophobes and isolationists in Congress could not strongly object to the passage of the bill, particularly when the president had made a compelling case for rewarding China in this way for its wartime support that was still desired and needed.
The legislation Roosevelt hoped to see Congress pass was formally proposed by Warren G. Magnuson, a respected member of Congress from Washington, a state that had a considerable Chinese population. The bill permitted Chinese nationals already living in the United States to become naturalized citizens. The passage of this bill marked the first time since the Naturalization Act of 1790 that Asians could be naturalized.
Impact
The immediate impact of this legislation was a strengthening of the bond between the United States and China, a desirable outcome that President Roosevelt had foreseen and strongly supported. Because this bill opened the door to Asian immigration, however slightly, immigration regulations pertaining to people from the Philippines and India were enacted in 1946 and permitted Filipinos and Asian Indians to immigrate to the United States in small numbers and to seek naturalization.
All these changes in immigration regulations for Asians resulted in the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, based upon an ethnic quota system. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 completely did away with a quota system based on national origins.
Bibliography
Aarim-Heriot, Najia. Chinese Immigrants, African Americans, and Racial Anxiety in the United States, 1848-1882. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003. An interesting comparative overview of early Chinese immigration to the United States during the gold rush and in the years following it.
Chan, Sucheng, ed. Chinese American Transnationalism: The Flow of People, Resources, and Ideas Between China and America During the Exclusionary Period. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006. A penetrating account of the interactions between the American and Chinese communities during a period when American discrimination against Asians was rife.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882-1943. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991. Among the best accounts of the legislation and events that led up to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Strongly recommended.
Daniels, Roger. Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life. 2d ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. A comprehensive look at the lives of Asian immigrants to the United States and their struggle to attain the right to remain there.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration and Immigration Policy Since 1882. New York: Hill & Wang, 2003. Well-written and accessible account of the various acts that Congress has passed regarding Asian immigration.
Gyory, Andrew. Closing the Gate: Race, Politics, and the Chinese Exclusion Act. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. Although Gyory does not discuss the Immigration Act of 1943 specifically, the background information that he provides will help readers to understand the necessity of such an act.
Koehn, Peter H., and Xiao-huang Yin, eds. The Expanding Roles of Chinese Americans in U.S.-Chinese Relations. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2002. A close look at the growing relations between the United States and China and the effect that the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Acts had upon these relations.