Describes the Immigration Act of 1907

1. Immigration Act of 1907

2. Immigration Act of
1907The Law: Federal legislation
regulating immigration
Date: Signed February 20,
1907
Significance: Created the
Dillingham Commission to
collect data used in future
immigration laws. further
narrowed Asian immigration,
limited Muslim immigration
and expanded the definition
of undesirable women
immigrants.

3. Roosevelt and
Immigration in 1905
Roosevelt calls upon U.S Congress to
increase protection from unwanted
immigration, and systemise earlier
legislation
Roosevelt and Congress hope to
exclude immigrants who would not
make good citizens
February 1907, Congress passes new
act prohibits Asians entering the USA
via Hawaii, doubled immigration tax
to $4 per person, broadened
excludable classes to include
contract labour, immoral groups.

4. Section 39
Section 39 of new law
created the U.S Immigration
Commission (Dillingham
Commission)
Role: to investigate
immigration problems and
their impact upon the nation
Provided detail reports to
Congress explaining the
need to refine immigration; i.e
need to put economic
interest of U.S citizens above
cheap labour.

5. Section 39
Commission also
favoured further limiting
immigration via the
implementation of an alien
literacy test, Chinese
exclusion policies and
restricting Japanese and
Korean immigration.
Limiting unskilled aliens
and implementing a quota
system was also
preferred.

6. Immigration Act 1907
Act was notable for several innovations
Section 12 required ships with alien passengers
departing the U.S to provide complete lists of their
passengers by name, age, sex, nationality,
occupation, place of residence in U.S
Information gathered through this law provided the
first statistical information on alien departures
The Act also worked to combat the practice of
polygamy and denied entry of polygamists to the
nation.

7. Immigration Act 1907
Women also a target of the new law; broadened
definition of prostitutes to include those arriving in the
USA for any immoral purposes
Could deport women arriving for ‘arranged’ marriages
Those who had worked as prostitutes previously also
permitted to be deported: this was the first statutory
provision authorising deportation based upon criminal
conduct with the USA