Asian Immigration Up to the 1950s

Starting in 1882, an act called the "Chinese Exclusion Act" was instituted. This restricted Chinese immigration for the next 60 years, for it was finally repealed in 1943.

"The "Chinese Must Go" movement was so strong that Chinese immigration to the United States declined from 39,500 in 1882 to only 10 in 1887."
~ Asian American Society

By 1885, Japanese, Indian and Korean immigrants started coming in with Japanese migrants having the majority. Quickly, anti-Japanese legislation/violence grew. In 1907, Japanese immigration was restricted because of the "Gentleman's Agreement" between Japan and the US.

Immigration in the 1900s at Ellis Island

Congress enacted a bill in 1917 that required immigrants over the age of 16 to pass a literacy test. This bill is known as the "The Asiatic Barred Zone" or "The Literacy Act". This was made to specifically to limit and prohibit immigration from the Asia-Pacific area. This 1917 Act was in effect until it was changed by the 1924 Immigration Act. Both of these laws were revised by the McCarran-Walter Act.

New arrivals are lined up in Ellis Island to have their papers checked

"The Immigration Act of 1924 created a quota system that restricted entry to 2 percent of the total number of people of each nationality in America as of the 1890 national census–a system that favored immigrants from Western Europe–and prohibited immigrants from Asia." ~ History.com in an article titled "U.S. Immigration Before 1965"