The Immigration and Nationality Act amendments of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act, INS Act of 1965, Pub.L. 89-236) abolished the national-origin quotas that had been in place in the United States since the Immigration Act of 1924. It was proposed by Emanuel Celler and heavily supported by Senator Ted Kennedy. An annual limitation of 170,000 visas was established for immigrants from Eastern Hemisphere countries with no more than 20,000 per country. By 1968, the annual limitation from the Western Hemisphere was set at 120,000 immigrants, with visas available on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the number of family reunification visas was unlimited, and quickly led to chain immigration. This contravened the intention of family reunification visas, which were designed to end the separation of U.S. citizens from their families. In the Democratic-controlled Congress, the House of Representatives voted 326 to 69 in favor of the act while the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 76 to 18. President Lyndon Johnson signed the legislation into law. The Act was influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. The Chinese Exclusion Act restricted immigration from Asia from 1882 until 1943 when the Magnuson Act was passed due to China's alliance with the United States during World War II. Increasing numbers of Asian immigrants began arriving after the INS Act raised the quotas set by the Magnuson Act, renewing Asian communities that had nearly died out. During debate on the Senate floor, Senator Kennedy, speaking of the effects of the act, said, "...our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually.... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset...." The act's supporters not only claimed the law would not change America's ethnic makeup, but that such a change was not desirable. However, in the end, this act dramatically changed the face of American society by making it a multicultural, multiethnic nation. Prior to the act, the United States was overwhelmingly composed of whites of European descent (89% in 1965), with the only minority group of significant size being blacks (10%). Kennedy's soothing prediction turned out to be more correct if the "not"s were removed. Since the implementation of the law, the relative proportion of the white population has been in steady decline, with European-Americans of non-Hispanic descent projected to lose their majority status during the 21st century. Hispanics, a group composed of Spanish-speaking whites, blacks, indigenous tribes, and those of mixed ancestry have replaced English-speaking African Americans as the largest minority in the U.S. There has also been enormous growth of immigration from non-European nations since the implementation of the law, especially Asian countries. However, while the Hart-Celler act did away with racial preferences in immigration, the law has, in some ways, failed to keep pace with the realities of immigration. The decision to base number of visas on country of origins treats all countries as if they were the same, regardless of population or desire of residents to immigrate to the United States. The preference in the law for skilled workers also means that manual laborers from countries such as Mexico face significant difficulties in obtaining legal permission to enter the United States. Nevertheless, more than half foreign-born residents of the U.S. are of Mexican origin (see "Nearly 7 in 10 Mexican Migrants Enters U.S. Illegally, Says Mexico" in external links for details), roughly two thirds of them being low skilled workers, sometimes referred to as "migrant workers". According to recent Census data (see "U.S. Fertility Rate Hits 35-Year High, Stabilizing Population" in external links for details), the entire post-1970 population growth in the U.S. is due to foreign immigration. Since 1971, the fertility rate of the native population stayed below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman during her lifetime, and only recently reached the replacement level due to high fertility rates of Hispanics.
External links
- President Lyndon B. Johnson's speech upon signing the bill
- Asian-Nation: 1965 Immigration Act & Its Effects on Asian Americans
- Ancestors in the Americas: The Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act
- Nearly 7 in 10 Mexican Migrants Enters U.S. Illegally, Says Mexico
- U.S. Fertility Rate Hits 35-Year High, Stabilizing Population
|
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Issues | Illegal immigration · Trafficking in human beings · Labor shortage · U.S-Mexico Border · Economic impact · Population · Immigration reduction · Legalization · Guest worker program |  |
| Proposed legislation | DREAM Act (2001-2007) · H.R. 4437 (2005) · Jackson Lee (2005) · McCain-Kennedy (2005) · SKIL (2006) · S. 2611 (2006) · STRIVE Act (2007) · S. 1348 (2007) | |
| Action | REAL ID (2005) · Secure Fence Act (2006) · 2006 Protests | |
| Organizations | Immigration and Customs Enforcement · CHIRLA · CCIR · NIF · FIRM · WAAA · NCLR · FAIR · MMP · MCDC · CCIR · SOS · CIS · NUSA · MPI | |
| Past laws | Naturalization Act (1795) · 14th Amendment (1868) · Chinese Exclusion (1882) · Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 (1907) · Emergency Quota Act (1921) · Immigration Act of 1924 (1924) · Bracero Program (1942-64) · INS Act (1965) · IRCA (1986) · IIRIRA (1996) | |
