WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — This week in history we focus on a little known immigration law that ran shock waves through the Asian-American community.
The law was the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. It was written as a response to unfounded claims that Chinese immigrant workers were undermining the American workforce of the 1860-70s.
At the time, Chinese immigrants made up less than .05 percent of the U.S. workforce. However, declining wages and working conditions were blamed on the Chinese immigrants. This anti-immigrant sentiment swept the country and eventually triggered the Exclusion Act on May 6th of 1882.
The policy restricted Chinese immigration and eventually banned it altogether. It was until 1943 that the Act was repealed.