The law also made several categories of
immigrants ineligible for citizenship, including immigrants who
likely to become public charges.
Immigration Act of 1882 for kids:
US Immigration Policy
The year 1882 saw the largest number of immigrants, nearly 1
million, in American history and in response the government began to
develop a national immigration policy and Congress passed two
historic immigration acts. Prior to 1890, the individual states,
rather than the Federal government, regulated immigration into the
United States of America. The first law to effect migrants was the
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
that restricted immigration from China for 10 years. The
second law passed by Congress was the 1882 Act.
Reasons for the Immigration Act of 1882
The reasons for the Immigration Act of 1882 were therefore:
-
Increased levels of
Immigrants from Europe
-
Resurgence in
Nativism in America
(Anti-immigration)
-
The need for the
government to restrict immigration
The Purpose of the Immigration Act of 1882
The federal government had to tread a fine line with the Act of 1882. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion act had banned all
immigration from China. As many European immigrants were considered
extremely desirable it would be inappropriate to limit immigration
by country. The purpose for the
Act of 1882 was therefore to limit immigration based on
excluding certain kinds of people who were deemed "undesirable".
Immigration Act of 1882 for kids:
Provisions of the Immigration Act
What did the 1882 Immigration Act do? The provisions of the
Act of 1882 were:
-
To impose a 'head tax'.
The Act of 1882 levied a tax of 50 cents on all
immigrants landing at US ports to fund immigration officials The
tax money was be collected by the collector of customs at each
port paid into the United States Treasury to "constitute a fund
called the immigration fund" and to pay the federal immigration
agents throughout the United States
-
The Immigration fund was
also to be used for the care of immigrants in distress
-
Immigration officials were
given the authority to expel certain immigrants based on
criteria laid out within the 1882 Immigration Act
-
The 1882 Act
provided that all convicted convicts (except those convicted for
political crimes) should be returned to the country they had
come from. The expense of returning convicts were to be borne by
the owners of the vessels
-
That an examination on the
condition of passengers should be made on arrival
-
If on examination any of
the passengers were found to be any the following, a written
report should be made to the collector at each port and such
persons should not be permitted to land:
Significance of the Immigration Act of 1882
The significance of the Act of 1882 was that further
laws would be passed restricting
immigrants and increasing government regulation.
The second law passed by Congress in the same year as
the Chinese Exclusion Act was the
Immigration Act of 1882 which restricted immigrants from Europe.
This law was quickly followed by the
1885 Alien Contract Labor Law
(Foran Act) that virtually banned foreign contract labor.
In 1890 the individual states turned over control of immigration to
the Federal Government. In 1890 the first Federal immigration
center was built on Ellis
Island where immigrants were subjected to medical and legal
examinations
detailed in the
Ellis Island
Inspection Process. |