Chinese Exclusion Acts

Chinese Exclusion Acts, legislation limiting immigration of Orientals to the United States. Anti-Chinese prejudice and competition for jobs led to riots preceding the first act (1882), banning Chinese immigration for 10 years. Congress continued these 10-year exclusions until the 1924 law excluded all Asians. In 1943 an immigration quota of 105 Chinese annually was established; the quota was abolished in 1965.