Opening the Door: The Hart-Celler Act
October 3, 1965. President Lyndon John signs the Hart-Celler Act into law. This law lifts quotas on immigration to the United States, which had been restricted especially from Asian countries since the 1920s. From this vantage point in history, we can say that this was the door that opened immigration from Asia.
The bill was a corrective, yes, of the racist quotas that had been in place, specifically barring Chinese, Japanese, and then Filipinos to immigrate to the U.S.
“This bill that we sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. It will not reshape the structure of our daily lives, or really add importantly to either our wealth or our power. ”