The 1965 immigration reform
National-origin quotas end, and the country changes
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The quota act of 1924 allocated immigration places by country of origin, calculated so that northern Europeans received nearly all of them. The act belongs with the civil rights laws — racial quotas were hard to defend abroad while segregation was being dismantled at home. Its effect was far larger than its advocates expected; several stated expressly that the composition of the country would not change appreciably. Family reunification as the governing principle produced a self-reinforcing effect, and the foreign-born share of the American population went from under five per cent in 1970 to over thirteen today.
For children
Since 1924 the United States had allocated immigration by nationality, so that nearly all places went to northern Europeans. In 1965 the system was abolished. Immigration thereafter came mainly from Asia and Latin America, and the country's composition changed fundamentally.
Sources
- Immigration and Nationality Act (1965)
- Daniels, Guarding the Golden Door (2004)
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