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Immigration Act

United States [1924]
Also known as: National Origins Act

Quick Summary

The Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act, significantly altered U.S. immigration policy. It established a national-origins quota system, limiting annual European immigration to 150,000 and reducing each nationality's allowance to 2 percent of its U.S. population in 1890. This effectively favored immigrants from northwestern Europe while drastically reducing those from southern and eastern Europe. The act signaled a shift from a previously open immigration policy to one with specific ethnic and national criteria for admission. This legislation effectively closed the "Golden Door" to many immigrants.123

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