The Impact Of The Chinese Exclusion Act And The Immigration Act

1058 Words3 Pages

The United States is a nation that originated from immigrants. Many people have viewed the United States as a land of hope and freedom; but, it was exclusive and granted those rights to particular people. In the past, Congress had passed immigration policies that were restrictive because they excluded certain races and ethnicities while permitting others entrance to the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Acts and the Immigration Act of 1924 are two examples that restricted specific types of people from entering the United States. These two acts along with the Bracero Program and Immigration Act of 1965 helped to mold and shape the United States immigration policy today. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act prohibited …show more content…

In “An Architecture of Race in American Immigration Law,” Ngai explained that the act defined the world by country, nationality, and by race, distinguishing between white people from white countries and so-called colored races. Immigration policies on Mexican immigrants were also strictly enforced. Ngai stated. “In 1929, the United States consuls in Mexico began more strictly to enforce existing provisions of the immigration laws - the ban on contracting laborers, the literacy test, and the provision to exclude any person who may commit crime to refuse visas to all Mexican laborers save those with prior residence in the United States” (Ngai, pg. 90). The term “illegal” became a negative racial word not just for Mexican immigrants, but also for Mexican Americans. Later, the restrictive policy created illegal immigration problems that would become the center of the Mexican race …show more content…

The Bracero program was to solve the problem of Mexican illegal immigrants coming to the United States; however, the Braceros themselves and Mexican Americans viewed this negatively. After the Chualar accident in 1963, many people, especially Mexican-Americans, became outraged at this incident because the United States exploited the Braceros as mere guest workers in the United States. The Bracero Program simultaneously exploited Mexican laborers and displaced U.S. workers in need of agricultural jobs. The jobs they had were backbreaking work. They had to labor for long hours with low wages and many suffered physically and mentally from low-quality food, segregated housings, lack of water and rest, and terrible housing conditions. Flores explains in “A Town Full of Dead Mexicans” that Mexican-American activists and civil rights organizations opposed the Bracero Program because Mexican Americans still endured discrimination in their daily lives, and the Braceros threatened their livelihood such as taking jobs away from them and their social citizenship and acceptance in the United States (pg. 143). The United States praised the Bracero Program as the solution to unregulated Mexican immigration to the

Show More
Related

  • Migrant Labor and Y no se lo trago la tierra

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book, “Y no se lo trago la tierra” by Thomas River and the article “Immigrants: The Story of a Bracero” author David Bacon both represent a historical time. In the year 1942 the U.S and Mexico negotiated an agreement that was known as the “Bracero Program”. This agreement gave Mexicans the opportunity to come to the U.S and enhance a better life. On the other hand, for Americans it was an assistance they required to keep the country going after the World War II. This need took the U.S to do a complete turnaround. Before they were trying to prevent Mexican immigrants from entering the country and now they had to open their doors to them. Thus, U.S was in need of Mexican laborers to help supply soldiers with food and keeping the agriculture growing. Moreover, a vast number of Migrant Farm Workers come every year and are spread all across the countries taking positions that Americans would never tolerate due to hard conditions, the insufficient wage, and the physically challenging labor they have to face. All this leads to a hard historical time for both counties as Thomas Rivera and David Bacon illustrate their protagonist points of view throughout stories and testimonials of the experience and struggles they were faced with during this time.

    Read More

  • Effects Of The Bracero Program

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    If the Bracero Program was followed more carefully and even had a replacement program, there is a slight chance that the immigration problems we are presented with today would not be a problem. The Bracero Program caused more harm than good; it helped create a common migration pattern of Mexican citizens coming to the United States for work, then returning home to Mexico to give their family money and live there for a while, but then ultimately returning to work some more and make more money, in many cases illegally. This is seen even today, and makes many professionals wonder if the Bracero Program was even worth it despite the agricultural success it

    Read More

  • What Is Migra A History Of The Border Patrol Summary

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    United States labor officials approached the Mexican Department of Migration about a controlled and managed system of legal migration. The Bracero Program offered Mexicans the opportunity to legally work in the United States. Braceros were healthy, landless, and surplus male agricultural workers from areas in Mexico not experiencing a labor shortage. Braceros met the labor need to American agri-businessmen, but Hernandez counters that the Bracero Program was a system of labor exploitation, a project of masculinity and modernization, and a sit of gendered

    Read More

  • Major Problems in American Immigration History

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...y Burnett, “The Noncitizen National and the Law of American Empire” , “in Major Problems in American Immigration History, ed. Mae M Ngai and Jon Gjerde (Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013),278

    Read More

  • Comparing Angel Island And Ellis Island

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Students in America have been taught about the history of America, about Christopher Columbus had found it and he was detector. Day by day America becomes the biggest, strongest, the most powerful and civility country in the world. Therefore, people want to come to America for a better life. At first, they were very welcome because more immigrants meant cheaper labor. Not for a long time, Americans claimed that immigrants made Americans lost their jobs, for this reason they became resentment, especially Chinese immigrants and they passed through Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 and prohibited entry to Chinese laborers. Americans started to limit immigrants from many countries, they built Angel Island and Ellis Island for this

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Not Like Us

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Daniel, Roger is a highly respected author and professor who has majored in the study of immigration in history and more specifically the progressive ear. He’s written remarkable works over the history of immigration in America, in his book Not like Us he opens a lenses about the hostile and violent conditions immigrants faced in the 1890’s through the 1924’s. Emphasizing that during the progressive area many immigrants felt as they were living in a regressing period of their life. While diversity of ethnicity and race gradually grew during this time it also sparked as a trigger for whites creating the flare up of nativism. Daniel’s underlines the different types of racial and ethnical discrimination that was given to individual immigrant

    Read More

  • Open Borders are Harmful to the United States

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United States had an open door policy on immigration from the nations beginning until 1921. During that time, between 1790 and 1920, the population grew by 102 million. That’s about one million new immigrants each year for 130 years. Most of these immigrants were from European countries. In 1921 Congress passed the Quota Act which put a cap of 360,000 new immigrants per year. Congress did this because the public was concerned about the number of new immigrants and how it would affect the country. This act also favored immigrants from England, Germany, France, and Scandinavia over those from Asia, Africa, and southern Europe.

    Read More

  • Immigration to America in the Early 1900's

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the eyes of the early American colonists and the founders of the Constitution, the United States was to represent the ideals of acceptance and tolerance to those of all walks of life. When the immigration rush began in the mid-1800's, America proved to be everything but that. The millions of immigrants would soon realize the meaning of hardship and rejection as newcomers, as they attempted to assimilate into American culture. For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Chinese Immigration In California

    2494 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the Gold Rush of 1848-1849, California began to experience a large wave of Chinese immigration to the United States. Stories of the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill drew thousands of Chinese immigrants into North America from various parts of Asia. These immigrants, who were primarily poor peasants, flooded the “Golden Hills” we know as California in pursuit of better economic opportunity. To fill in the needs of the increasingly widespread mining communities in the West, many Chinese immigrants ultimately became merchants, railroad workers, agricultural laborers, mining laborers, and factory workers. Throughout the Gold Rush, members of the Chinese labor force played significant roles in both the social and economic development of the American West, particularly with regards to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

    Read More

  • Mexican Americans

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    Starting in the late nineteenth century until the end of World War II, the immigration policy in the United States experienced dramatic changes that altered the pace of immigration. High rates of immigration sparked adverse emotions and encouraged restrictive legislation and numerous bills in Congress advocated the suspension of immigration and the deportation of non-Americans (Wisconsin Historical Society). Mexican American history was shaped by several bills in Congress and efforts to deport all non-Americans from the United States. The United States was home to several Spanish-origin groups, prior to the Declaration of Independence. The term “Mexican American” was a label used to describe a number of Hispanic American groups that were diverse and distinct from each other (Healey). Between 1910 and 1930, Mexican’s immigrated to the Southwest regions of the United States and began to work as low paid, unskilled physical laborers. Mexican immigrants took jobs as migratory laborers or seasonal workers in mines or on commercial farms and ranches. These jobs resulted in isolation and physical immobility with little opportunity for economic success (Mitz). Mexican Americans were not alone in their struggle to adapt to mainstream America and fight racial discrimination in education, jobs, wages and politics.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay About Immigration

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nowadays, United States is the country that has variety of cultures, races, etc. mixing together by having immigrants in their countries. However, they need to control these group of people also. More people out of country are trying to stay in the U.S. However, this is not an easy process to deal with. There is an immigrant policy that they have to go through. In the past, United States is wide open for people to settle down on this land. There is no process of immigrants. However, in the middle of 1840 to 1880, immigrants started to come in the U.S. such as Irish and Chinese because of demanding of unskilled and cheap labors. In the 1920, automation replaced unskilled labors as a result immigrant’s policy is limited quotas for immigrants

    Read More

  • The Chinese Immigration Experience

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Chinese immigrant experience has traveled through times of hardships, under the English man. They have struggled to keep themselves alive through racism, work, and acceptance. Although many have come to Canada for their lives’ and their children’s to be successful, and safe. It could not be just given until adversity gave them the life they hoped to one day life for. In the starting time of 1858, the Chinese community had started coming to different parts of Canada considering the push and pull factors that had led them here. Because of the lack of workers in the British Columbia region, the Chinese were able to receive jobs in gold mining. Most Chinese were told to build roads, clear areas, and construct highways, but were paid little because of racism. The Chinese today are considered one of the most successful races in Canada because of the push and pull factors that they had come across, the racism that declined them and the community of the Chinese at the present time.

    Read More

  • Mae Ngai Impossible Subjects Summary

    1950 Words  | 4 Pages

    This book serves as the best source of answers to those interested in questions about the origin of ethnicity and race in America. Impossible subjects is divided into seven chapters, and the first two talk about the action and practices that led to restriction, exclusion and deportation. It majorly traces back experiences of four immigrant groups which included the Filipino, Japanese, Chinese and Mexican. Ngai talks of the exclusion practices which prevented Asian entry into America and full expression of their citizenship in America. Although the American sought means of educating the Asians, they still faced the exclusion policies (Mae Ngai 18). All Asians were viewed as aliens and even those who were citizens of the USA by birth were seen as foreign due to the dominant American culture (Mae Ngai 8). Unlike the Asians, Mexicans were racially eligible to citizenship in the USA because of their language and religion. However, she argues that Mexicans still faced discrimination in the fact that entry requirements such as visa fee, tax and hygiene inspection were made so difficult for them, which prompted many Mexicans to enter into the USA illegally. Tens and thousands of Mexicans later entered into America legally and illegally to seek for employment but were seen as seasonal labor and were never encouraged to pursue American

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Bracero Program

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some of the advantages that the Bracero Program brought were the hiring of illegal workers, financial compensations, living expenses and transportation. The program was able to bring Mexican workers and give to them temporally employment. The owners of the land pay for their work and give to them transportation to and from the farms they were working. In addition, according to “the Debate Over Guest-Worker Programs” the bracero program was directly to rural workers from Mexico and the majority of

    Read More

  • Immigration Act Of 1924 Essay

    1948 Words  | 4 Pages

    It was unjustified for congress of the United States to pass the Immigration Act of 1924 to limit the immigration in 1920s. During 1917, congress of United States passed a law that every immigrants whoever want to entry into United States Also people should be accepting to the immigrants because the United States was a place that thirteen colonies overthrew the British government and created United States. All Americans are immigrants because no American is native to United States. People all came here from other places. People should not have discrimination to any immigrants.

    Read More

More about The Impact Of The Chinese Exclusion Act And The Immigration Act

Open Document