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The Chinese Exclusion Act
Until 1882 the United States had in practice no restrictions on who could immigrate; the border stood open. The Act is the origin of American immigration control as a field of law, and it established the principle that Congress has nearly unlimited authority over entry — the plenary power doctrine, which remains good law. A side effect was *United States v. Wong Kim Ark* in 1898, in which the Supreme Court held that anyone born on American soil is a citizen regardless of their parents' status; that principle was therefore settled in a case arising from exclusion.
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