Entering
the USA is a privilege not a right and on six other occasions when laws have been
passed to restrict some people from entering the country.
1. Exclusion of the
Chinese
President Chester A.
Arthur.
Signed on May 6, 1882.
Signed on May 6, 1882.
The Chinese Exclusion
Act, which banned "skilled and unskilled labourers and Chinese employed in mining" from
entering the US for 10 years, was the first significant law restricting
immigration to the country. It came at a time when the US was struggling with
high unemployment and, although Chinese made up a very small segment of the
country's workforce, they were nevertheless scapegoated for its social and
economic woes.
The law also placed restrictions on Chinese who were already in the US, forcing them to obtain certificates in order to re-enter if they left the country and banning them from securing citizenship.
The act expired in 1892 but was extended for a further 10 years in the form of another - the Geary Act. This placed additional restrictions on Chinese residents of the country, forcing them to register and to obtain a certificate of residence, without which they could be deported.
This changed in 1943 with the Magnuson Act - which allowed some Chinese immigration and for some Chinese already residing in the country to become naturalised citizens, but which maintained the ban on property and business ownership. This came at a time when China was a US ally during World War II.
The law also placed restrictions on Chinese who were already in the US, forcing them to obtain certificates in order to re-enter if they left the country and banning them from securing citizenship.
The act expired in 1892 but was extended for a further 10 years in the form of another - the Geary Act. This placed additional restrictions on Chinese residents of the country, forcing them to register and to obtain a certificate of residence, without which they could be deported.
This changed in 1943 with the Magnuson Act - which allowed some Chinese immigration and for some Chinese already residing in the country to become naturalised citizens, but which maintained the ban on property and business ownership. This came at a time when China was a US ally during World War II.
2. Jewish refugees
during World War II
President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
As millions of people became refugees during World War II, US President Franklin D Roosevelt argued that refugees posed a serious threat to the country's national security. Drawing on fears that Nazi spies could be hiding among them, the country limited the number of German Jews who could be admitted to 26,000 annually. And it is estimated that for most of the Hitler era, less than 25 percent of that quota was actually filled.
As millions of people became refugees during World War II, US President Franklin D Roosevelt argued that refugees posed a serious threat to the country's national security. Drawing on fears that Nazi spies could be hiding among them, the country limited the number of German Jews who could be admitted to 26,000 annually. And it is estimated that for most of the Hitler era, less than 25 percent of that quota was actually filled.
In
one of the most notorious cases, the US turned away the St Louis ocean liner,
which was carrying 937 passengers, almost all of whom are thought to have been
Jewish, in June 1939. The ship was forced to return to Europe, where more than
a quarter of its passengers are thought to have been killed in the Holocaust.
3. Anarchists banned
President Theodore Roosevelt.
Signed on March 3, 1903.
Signed on March 3, 1903.
In 1903, the Anarchist Exclusion Act
banned anarchists and others deemed to be political extremists from entering
the US.
In 1901, President William McKinley
had been fatally shot by Leon Czolgosz, an American anarchist who was the son
of Polish immigrants.
The act - which was also known as
the Immigration Act of 1903 - codified previous immigration law and, in
addition to anarchists, added three other new classes of people who would be
banned from entry: those with epilepsy, beggars and importers of prostitutes.
The act marked the first time that individuals were banned
for their political beliefs.
4. Communists banned
Passed by Congress on
August 23, 1950, despite being vetoed by President Harry Truman.
The
Internal Security Act of 1950 - also known as the Subversive Activities Control
Act of 1950 or the McCarran Act - made it possible to deport any immigrants
believed to be members of the Communist Party. Members of communist
organisations, which were required to register, were also not allowed to become
citizens.
Truman
opposed the law, stating that it "would make a mockery of our Bill of
Rights".
Sections
of the act were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1993. But some
parts of the act still stand.
5. Iranians
President Jimmy Carter,
April 7, 1980.
Following the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, during which the US embassy in Tehran was stormed and 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days, American President Jimmy Carter cut diplomatic relations with and imposed sanctions on Iran. He also banned Iranians from entering the country.
Following the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, during which the US embassy in Tehran was stormed and 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days, American President Jimmy Carter cut diplomatic relations with and imposed sanctions on Iran. He also banned Iranians from entering the country.
Today,
Iranians have again been banned - one of seven Muslim majority countries included
in Trump's executive order .
6. Ban on
HIV-positive persons
Ronald Reagan
Under President Ronald
Reagan, the US Public Health Service added Aids to its list of "dangerous
and contagious" diseases. Senator Jesse Helms' "Helms Amendment"
added HIV to the exclusion list.
In 1987, the US banned
HIV positive persons from arriving in the US. The laws were influenced by
homophobic and xenophobic sentiment
towards Africans and minorities at the time, as well as a false belief that the HIV virus could be
spread by physical or respiratory contact. Former US President Barack Obama lifted it in
2009, completing a process begun by President George W Bush.
President
Bill Clinton issued six immigrant bans;
George W.
Bush six immigrant bans
Below are
Obama’s actions:
— July 25, 2011. Barred
those under a UN travel ban, or who broke 29 executive orders covering
transactions with terrorists.
— Aug. 4, 2012. Banned
anybody involved in war crimes, or just about any other crime including human
rights violations.
— April 23, 2012. Barred
those helping Syria or Iran, or involved in human rights abuses for those
governments.
— May 1, 2012. Another block
on those helping Iran and Syria.
— March 6,
2014 . Barred entry of those claiming government authority in the Crimea region
of Ukraine, presumably on behalf of Moscow.
— April 3,
2014. Banned anyone known to threaten South Sudan