Immigration to the US has occurred from each corner of the world and most often than not, America has absorbed newcomers who have tried to assimilate into her culture. However there have been cases when America has treated its immigrants harshly and the history of Chinese immigration to the USA illustrates this very fact.
• A Welcome Arrival:
Immigration from China to the US began in the mid-19th Century. Young peasants from China arrived in the US in search of economic fortune but they were left with low-paid industrial labor. Their advanced agricultural knowledge and contribution to railroad building however earned them accolades.
• Worsening Situation:
The popularity did not last long and soon the Chinese immigrants faced a rough time. Fear, ignorance, and post-Civil War depression created an isolationist and hostile atmosphere and American attitude turned xenophobic towards the Chinese. In 1882, the US Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to prevent further immigration and Chinese Americans were denied the right to naturalization. The Geary Act of 1892 had extended the above act by adding onerous new requirements. The Angel Island Inspection Station were built in San Francisco in 1910 to enforce such preventive law.
• Changing Thoughts:
Gradually there was a transition in the scene. Chinese Americans' protests and court challenges for admitting of their relatives raised awareness. In 1943 the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed (by means of the Magnuson Act) while 1952 saw the Walter-McCarren Act being enacted allowing first-generation Americans to apply for citizenship. Throughout the 1960s, Chinese Americans made advancements into professional arenas including medicine, corporations, and politics. The 1964 Immigration and Nationality Act removed the last barriers to Chinese immigration, hence initiating a new era in the history of America's melting pot.
• New Acceptance:
Today highly-educated and professional Chinese immigrants enter the United States for seeking greater career progress, like in fields of high-tech and engineering. Also for other Chinese immigrants, the USA represents liberty and tolerance and they have accordingly sought refuge there, away from political upheaval and human rights violations prevalent in many other parts of the world.
