"... for many years America's immigration policy was tarnished with racial and ethnic bigotry and prejudice and was dominated by an immigration selection system deeply alien to our country's tradition. This period formally ended with the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1965." ~ Abba P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State , The Open Society, 1969
Healing the Wounds
The Act stopped decades of racist practices that barred Asians and limited Southern and Eastern Europeans.
-President Lyndon B. Johnson,
Remarks at Immigration Bill Signing, 1965 |
"This system violated the basic principle of American democracy--the principle that values and rewards each man on the basis of his merit as a man.
It has been un-American in the highest sense, because it has been untrue to the faith that brought thousands to these shores even before we were a country. Today, with my signature, this system is abolished. We can now believe that it will never again shadow the gate to the American Nation with the twin barriers of prejudice and privilege." |
The Making of Contemporary America
When the bill passed, few envisioned its vast impact upon our society. A culmination of the Civil Rights and Cold War movements, it transformed 'traditional America' by allowing people of any ethnicity to enter America. Immigrants from all parts of the world could journey to the
land of the free.
“From now on, those who can contribute most to this country—to its growth, to its
strength, to its spirit—will be the first that are admitted to this land. . . . The days
of unlimited immigration are past. But those who come will come because of what
they are--not because of the land from which they sprung.”
-Lyndon B. Johnson
A Higher Moral Standing
As an act of foreign policy, it reaffirmed our nation’s belief that communist-oppressed people fleeing their homes to come to America was a victory of political systems. It took us to higher moral ground; America spoke as a global leader beckoning all peoples to freedom and equality.
~ Clarissa Martinez, Director NCLR, a Latino civil rights organization
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"It [family unification] is the central hallmark of the American immigration policy, we are in the business of reuniting families. That's a major basis for our immigration. If you are the father, mother, sister, brother, son or daughter of an American Citizen, you can come to the head of the line."
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Mass Migration
Proponents of the bill didn't believe it would revolutionize our nation; they believed it was just correcting a 'cruel and enduring wrong' that marred American values:
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They were entirely wrong. European economies improved and European immigration declined. Wars, poverty, and the chance for a better life drove large-scale migrations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America to US shores.
"The great fallacy was the belief that there were large numbers of European immigrants ready, qualified, and able to come to America. Many seemed to think that 20,000 annual arrivals from many European countries would absorb most of the Old World immigration visa slots." ~ Roger Daniels, Coming to America