Magnuson Act

This article is about the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act. For the 1975 US federal law dealing with consumer warranties, see Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. For the 1976 U.S. federal law governing marine fisheries management, see Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. For the Magnuson Act of 1950, see Maritime security (USCG).
Magnuson Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Acts, to establish quotas, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)CERA
NicknamesChinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943
Enacted bythe 78th United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 17, 1943
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 78–199
Statutes at Large57 Stat. 600
Codification
Acts repealedChinese Exclusion Act
Titles amended8 U.S.C.: Aliens and Nationality
U.S.C. sections amended8 U.S.C. ch. 7 §§ 262-297 & 299
Legislative history

The Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943, also known as the Magnuson Act, was an immigration law proposed by US Representative (later Senator) Warren G. Magnuson of Washington and signed into law on December 17, 1943, in the United States.[1] It allowed Chinese immigration for the first time since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and permitted some Chinese immigrants already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens. However, in many states, Chinese Americans (mostly immigrants but sometimes US citizens) were denied property-ownership rights either by law or de facto until the Magnuson Act itself was fully repealed in 1965.[2]

This act is the first legislation since 1870 which relaxed racial and national immigration barriers in the United States and started the way to the completely non-racial immigration legislation and policy of the late 1960s.

The Magnuson Act was passed on December 17, 1943, two years after the Republic of China became an official allied nation of the United States in World War II. Although considered a positive development by many, it was still restrictive, limiting Chinese immigrants to an annual quota of 105 new entry visas. The quota was determined according to the National Origins Formula prescribed by the Immigration Act of 1924, which set immigration quotas on countries subject to the law as a fraction of 150,000 in proportion to the number of inhabitants of that nationality residing in the United States as of the 1920 census, which for China was determined to be 0.07%, or 105 per annum.[3][4] Chinese immigration later increased with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which abolished the National Origins Formula.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Peters, Peters; Woolley, John T. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: "Statement on Signing the Bill to Repeal the Chinese Exclusion Laws.," December 17, 1943". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  2. ^ "An Unnoticed Struggle" (PDF). Japanese American Citizens League. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  3. ^ Beaman, Middleton (July 1924). "CURRENT LEGISLATION: The Immigration Act of 1924". American Bar Association Journal. 10 (7). American Bar Association: 490–492. JSTOR 25709038. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "Immigration, Emigration, and Citizenship" (PDF). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1944-45. (66th ed.). Washington, D.C.: US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: 107–120. October 1945. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "Comparison of Asian Populations during the Exclusion Years" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  6. ^ Chang, Iris (2003). The Chinese in America. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-03123-2.[page needed]
  7. ^ Wei, William. "The Chinese-American Experience: An Introduction". HarpWeek. Archived from the original on 2014-01-26. Retrieved 2014-02-05.