A simple act of Congress. providing three things. will prove more to the Chinese than endless professions of our good will. or even than fleets of airplanes. First. Repeal the old exclusion acts. Second. Amend our nationality laws to make Chinese persons or persons of Chinese descent eligible for naturalization by the same procedures other immigrants follow. Third. Allot an annual immigration quota to the Chinese. The established formula which admits a quota of over 65.000 a year from England and 17.000 from Ireland and 27.000 in normal times from Germany would give the Chinese a total of only 105 persons a year. Just to state that simple fact should be enough. it seems to me. to answer the question whether we should not in our own countrys interests take such action now. The Chinese to be admitted under the quota would. of course. have to meet all the regular qualifications required of immigrants from whatever country. such as literacy. freedom from disease. good moral character. and financial responsibility. so that none would be likely to become a public charge. There are no loopholes whereby persons of the Chinese race who were born in Hong Kong. for example. and therefore are British citizens. could come in under the British quota. or whereby Chinese persons born in Mexico could come try they are citizens. The one quota of 105 would cover all persons of the Chinese race desiring to migrate to the United States. regardless of where they were born or of what country they are citizens. Any fears of unfair competition arising from Chinese labor are completely unfounded. because few. if any. of the immigrants would be laborers. Even if all of them were. the number would amount to only three a year for Chicago. one a year for Washington. D.
Keywords matched
naturalization immigrants immigration exclusion act