Immigration Policies In The Mid-Twentieth Century

The immigration policies in the mid 20th century were primarily based off of fears and anxieties rather than sensible reasoning. World War I played a huge role in the sparking of society's widespread fear that immigrants could negatively impact the United States. Eventually, the panic of immigration grew and Congress were rigorous with their new immigration policies to the point where very few immigrants were able to enter the United States as legal citizens. The immigration policies limited entrance from each nation to 3 percent of their population, strikingly low, compared to *** at which it was before. Ultimately, Office of the Historian**, claimed that the “uncertainty generated over national security during World War I made it possible
The citizens allowed their worries to cause panic, which was just one simple factor of persuading the strict mid 20th century immigration policies. Furthermore, other worries uproared in the United States such as an the concern for an increase in competition for American resources due to immigrants entering our borders. Senator Ellison DuRant Smith argued during a congressional debate over the 1924 act that “immigration restriction was the only way to preserve existic American resources(***). Senator Ellison, just like many other who voted for restrictive immigration laws, feared that with our increasing population and the increase of immigration infiltration, there would be far too much competition among our resources. Eventually, our resources would become more scarce than they already were to begin with. The possibility of fewer resources per individual made many Americans uneasy, this led many to vote in favor for the strict immigration laws. Lastly, citizens feared even the simplest of things such as focusing on building our country even further, rather than focusing on accepting other countries citizens into our