Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 was introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 7995 at the 68th United States Congress on May 26, 1924. It was a federal law that prevented immigration from Asia, while also setting quotas on the number of immigrants from all around the Eastern Hemisphere. Nicknamed the Johnson-Reed Act, the only people from Asia that were allowed to enter were residents of the Philippines, who were deemed to be “American nationals” because of their relationship to America after the Spanish-American War. At the same time, it provided funding and an increased level of enforcement to carry out bans on other groups of immigrants. This act connects to the theme of this project, as it had a direct effect on the number of immigrants that could enter the United States, and thus impacted the population numbers of the country. The act was found through researching the relatable acts of congress to the topic of immigration to the United States.
Washington Post article (1924)
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This article in the Washington Post from September 14, 1924, details how some immigrants are being bootlegged into the U.S. on ships coming into the country. Being compared to the bootlegging of alcohol that was very prominent at that time because of Prohibition, the number of immigrants coming to the country illegally were larger than many thought. Moreover, the number of ships assigned to the task of stopping this from happening was supposedly zero, according to the article. This had an impact on the population of the country, and it also influenced how inaccurate the census might be counted. If there were no precautions taken to ensure that no illegal immigrants were coming to America, then there would be nothing in the way of this from happening often. A lot of illegal immigrants caused problems in the country through crimes and other ways, so this trend was one that needed to be stopped. This source was found through the ProQuest Database through the Dickinson Library.
Universal Newsreel (1931)
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This video is from the series of Universal Newsreels released by Universal Studios that ran from 1929-1967 throughout the country, while this specific video was recorded in 1931. In the newsreel from 0:30-1:26, the topic is focused on immigration officers deporting a trainload of immigrants back to Ellis Island to send the immigrants back to their countries of origin. The section was titled “Immigration Chiefs Deport Trainload of Undesirable Aliens”, and it took place in New Jersey. This video showcases the hardships that immigrants coming into the country faced, and this relates to the overall theme of this project as it describes how those who came into the country illegally were faced with the consequences of getting sent back home. The snippet also described how those how committed crimes in the country were also sent back. This video was found through the Academic Video Online database through the Dickinson Library.