HISTORICAL IMPLICATIONS

Of

Asian American Immigrants

19th

 Century

• 1850’s Gold Mountain Migration• The first Asians (Chinese) migrated to the United States (California)

to work in the gold mines and railroads.

19th Century

• 1868 Burlingame Treaty• This treaty established friendly relations between the U.S. and

China, encouraging Chinese immigration to the U.S., however naturalization was strictly prohibited.

19th Century

• 1870 Naturalization Act• The Naturalization Act of 1870 put controls on U.S. immigration and

limited naturalization to “aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent” “whites” thus excluding all Asians from receiving citizenship.

20th Century

•1905 Anti-Japanese Movement• Japanese and Korean Exclusion League formed in San Francisco by 67 labor unions

20th Century

•1907-1908 Gentleman’s Agreement with Japan• In an effort to reduce tensions between the two countries, the U.S. and Japan entered into an agreement in 1907 that hindered the migration of Japanese to the U.S. The U.S. would not restrict Japanese migration, but rather Japan would deny passports to laborers seeking to enter the U.S.

20th Century

•1914-1918 World War I•Despite discrimination against Asian-Americans, many chose to serve in the war and were awarded naturalization for their service. By the end of World War I in 1918, there were nearly 180,000 Asian-Americans living in the United States, including about 100,000 Japanese and 60,000 Chinese and 5,000 Filipinos.

20th Century

• Enacted during World War I, the Immigration Act of 1917 restricted immigration from anyone born in a geographically defined "Asiatic Barred Zone" except for Japanese and Filipinos. The Gentleman's agreement already restricted immigration of Japanese and the Philippines was an American colony and so its citizens were American nationals.

20th Century

• The Immigration Act of 1924 created a national origins quota which limited the number of immigrants by country and excluded all immigrants from Asia.

20th Century

• 1941 Pearl Harbor• Even before Pearl Harbor, Japanese were discriminated against in

the U.S. After the attack, this discrimination grew astronomically.

20th Century

•1945 World War II ends / War Brides Act•Enacted on December 28, 1945 the War Brides Act allowed the immigration of all non-Asian spouses, natural children and adopted children of U.S. military personal. Asians who had served in the military, excluding Japanese, during the war were given the option of becoming U.S. citizens.

20th Century

•1952 Immigration and Nationality Act•The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act upheld the national origins quota system, which limited the number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. annually by country. It ended the Asian exclusion from immigrating to the U.S. and created a preference system which determined eligibility by skill sets and family ties in the U.S.

20th Century

•1950-1953 Korean War•Many Asian-Americans served in the Korean War, which helped to combat Asian discrimination in the U.S.

19th Century

• 1950’s - 1960’s Asian-Americans elected to Congress• The first Asian-America to be elected to Congress was Dalip Singh

from California in 1956. Throughout the late 1950’s and 1960’s Asian discrimination in the U.S. began to recede. 

19th Century

• 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act• The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 allowed

undocumented persons who had resided in the U.S. continuously since January 1, 1982 to apply for legal status.

19th Century

• 1990 Immigration Act• The Immigration Act of 1990 increased the annual visa cap to

700,000, nearly tripling it, for the next three years and 675,000 annually for every year after.

21st Century

•2012 Asians surpass Hispanics as biggest immigrant group•In 2012, Asians surpassed Hispanics as the largest group of new immigrants in the U.S. A record 18.2 million Asians were recorded to be living in the U.S., making them the fastest-growing racial group in the country.

21st Century

•2013 Immigration Reform Bill•In the spring of 2013, comprehensive immigration reform was introduced to the U.S. Congress. If enacted, the bill will create a DREAM Act for persons of all ages, thousands of new visa allotments and a path to naturalization for undocumented persons living in the U.S.

21st Century

• TO BE DETERMINED