Part 6

1907 Immigration reaches all-time peak of 1,285,349.

1907 Immigration Commission is set up.

1917 During World War and afterwards thousands of Mexicans cross the border.

1919 Flow of immigrants from Europe again gets under way.

1921 Temporary Quota Law, restricting immigration.

1924 Permanent Quota Law, restricting immigration to 150,000 annually.

1938 Annual immigration drops to about 70,000.

The Development of Our Immigration Policy

“Those who have come to our shores, representing many kindreds and tongues, have been welded by common opportunity into a united patriotism.”—FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

Long before the Revolutionary War, the colonies enacted restrictive immigration laws. Many of these laws were based on religious prejudices, which, although somewhat softened in intensity, still existed when the new nation was born. Fear and consequent hatred of foreigners and foreign influence were widely prevalent in the early years of the Republic.

John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, and other prominent statesmen opposed the introduction of aliens into the political or economic life of the country. Thomas Jefferson believed that natural expansion of the existing population would be sufficient to meet the country’s needs. Even George Washington, in 1794, said:

My opinion with respect to emigration, is that except of useful mechanics and some particular descriptions of men or professions, there is no need of encouragement.

The prevailing spirit found expression in stringent naturalization laws which, however, were soon modified.

The Open Door

While the Federal Government was not unmindful of its inherent right to determine who might or might not come or remain within its borders, yet for a hundred years after the Revolutionary War ended, the country’s doors were open to all who chose to enter regardless of race, of physical, mental, or economic condition, of religious or political affiliation, or even of moral character.

An era of comparative tranquillity prevailed toward immigration until the 1840’s when a great flood of immigrants focused hostility against the Germans and Irish, a feeling which continued until the outbreak of the Civil War. A strong movement developed in Congress in favor of regulating or even limiting immigration. But nothing came of it. In a message to Congress in 1841, President Tyler gave expression to a sentiment that grew stronger with the passing of the years. He said:

We hold out to the people of other countries an invitation to come and settle among us as members of our rapidly growing family, and for the blessings we offer them we require of them to look upon our country as their country and unite with us in the great task of preserving our institutions and thereby perpetuating our liberties.

The open-door policy continued, for Congress was reluctant to abandon the time-honored belief that the United States had been dedicated at the beginning as a refuge for the oppressed people of all nations. Such legislation as was enacted during this period, including three laws for the improvement of conditions on immigrant-carrying ships, indicated the sympathetic attitude of Congress toward the incoming multitudes.

Congress again favored the foreign-born by providing that aliens who had declared an intention to become citizens might enjoy the benefits of the Homestead Act of 1862. This privilege was later on destined to accelerate the settlement of public lands in the West.

Because man power in industry and agriculture had been depleted during the War Between the States, a Federal law to stimulate immigration was enacted in 1864, but it was soon repealed when peace was restored.

Federal Control

In the absence of federal action, several seaboard States attempted immigration control but, after many years of effort, the Supreme Court held that Congress alone had such power. Congress assumed this power in 1882 when it reluctantly passed the first general immigration law which provided only that idiots, lunatics, persons likely to become a public charge, and criminals other than political offenders should be denied admission. This law marked the beginning of a policy of quality selection which dominated all subsequent legislation.

In 1882, because of Western opposition, Chinese laborers were excluded—a policy subsequently extended to include practically all Orientals. In 1884, a law forbidding the importation of foreign labor under contract was passed but necessary skilled laborers and members of learned professions were exempted. Thus was Washington’s opinion unwittingly honored.

While Congress was developing a more stringent selective policy, immigration increased by leaps and bounds with a shift in the incoming tide from Northern and Western to Southern and Eastern Europeans. Unable to function economically, socially, or politically in their home lands, a steady stream of immigrants was spreading over the United States in answer to the demand for unskilled labor. For more than thirty years, the words of Emma Lazarus, carved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, had vital meaning:

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Checking the Tide

The endless stream of newcomers, whose economic and political backgrounds differed from those of the earlier immigrants, led to a search for some method of checking the new immigration. With this end in view, the application of a literacy test was advocated. Presidents Cleveland and Taft had vetoed acts which contained this provision and President Wilson twice repudiated it. However, it became part of the General Law of 1917 over presidential objection. In a reference to the immigrants, President Wilson said:

Some of the best stuff in America has come out of foreign lands and some of the best stuff in America is in the men who are naturalized citizens of the United States.