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Stopped the entry of Chinese immigrants into the U.S. for 10 years. This was the first act to establish the federal government's right to restrict immigration based on nationalities.
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Several resctrictive acts were passed that allowed the national government to exclude certain individuals and deport aliens whose entrance into the country violated the immigration laws.
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Limited the annual number of immigrants from each nationality to 3% of the number of foreign-born persons of that nationality who were living in the U.S. in 1910
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Each established a new quota system for each nationality and set a limit on the total number of immigrants to be allowed entry at all. This quota system served as the basis for U.S. immigration policy for more than 35 years.
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Quotas were eliminated based on national origin. As many as 270,000 immigrants could be admitted each year without regard to nationality, country of origin, or race.
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Imposed severe penalties on employers who willfully hired illegal aliens.
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Said that illegal aliens who could prove they have been in the country for at least 5 years could apply to obtain temporary legal residency status. 18 months later, they could apply for permanent residency and eventually, citizenship.
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Raised legal immigration levels to about 40% (700,000 per year). It stressed family reunification, provided legal status for certain illegal immigrants, and struck down barriers blocking people with certain political beliefs from entry,
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Denied public social services, publicly funded health care, and public education to people who were suspected of being illegal aliens. People who were suspected of being illegal aliens were interviewed, questioned, and forced to provide legal residency documents.
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Was thought to be too harsh - hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and refugees would have had to leave the U.S.
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Prohibited immigrants, including legal ones awaiting citizenship, from recieving forms of public assistance like welfare benefits.
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Many Americans felt the new policies towards immigrants were too harsh. Due to a new policy, many refugees became automatically eligible for permanent legal residence. Other illegal immigrants were allowed to stay in the U.S. while their citizenship applications were processed and they were able to recieve public assistance benefits.
