Speech #940057050

Chairman. I do not know the answers. However. it is true that immigrants have not always been welcomed here. By the late 19th century. after decades of an influx of people from many parts of the world. the American people began to close the door. Fears of displacement in the labor market and prejudice against immigrants from certain parts of the world led to the enactment of legislation restricting the rights of aliens. For example. the California constitution at the turn of the century prohibited land ownership by aliens. The antialien land law prohibited aliens from having any interest in land used for agricultural purposes.