The dark history of the Chinese Exclusion Act Robert Chang
After 12 years living in California,
Chinese citizen Chae Chan Ping
was ready for a visit home.
He procured the necessary documents
for his departure and return journey,
and set sail for China,
where he spent the next year
reconnecting with friends and family.
But when he returned to San Francisco
on October 8th, 1888,
Ping and his fellow immigrant passengers
were forbidden to disembark.
Just days earlier, President Grover
Cleveland had signed the Scott Act,
which invalidated the legal documents
allowing their re-entry
to the United States.
This policy threatened
to separate families
and deprive Chinese immigrants
of their homes and livelihoods.
Ping challenged the ruling,
beginning a legal battle for the rights
of thousands of Chinese immigrants.
But his case inspired an even more
controversial policy
that continues to impact immigrants
around the globe.
Discrimination against Chinese immigrants
had begun decades earlier,
when the California Gold Rush created
a massive demand for labor.
Initially, Chinese immigrants were
welcomed as reliable workers
and became essential parts
of frontier communities.
Many built railroads
and worked in the mines,
while others operated laundries,
restaurants, and general stores.
The 1868 Burlingame Treaty even granted
China favored trading status with the US,
and allowed unrestricted migration
between the two countries.
But as large numbers of Chinese
immigrants found success,
American workers began
to see them as a threat.
Politicians and labor leaders denounced
them for driving down wages,
and violence against Chinese individuals
became increasingly common.
This anti-Chinese sentiment soon found
its way into California’s courts.
In 1854, following a murder trial where
a white man was convicted
of murdering a Chinese man,
the California Supreme Court
overturned the conviction,
holding that Chinese eyewitness
testimony was inadmissible.
The court declared that Chinese citizens
could not testify against
white defendants,
citing similar precedents
forbidding testimony
by Black and Native American individuals.
This decision effectively
legalized violence
against California’s Chinese population,
inspiring mob attacks
and campaigns for segregation.
Before long, anti-Chinese sentiment
reached the federal level.
In 1882, Congress passed
the Chinese Exclusion Act,
the first federal law that restricted
immigration
based explicitly on nationality.
In practice, the Act banned entry
to all ethnically Chinese immigrants
besides diplomats,
and prohibited existing immigrants
from obtaining citizenship.
It also meant Chinese individuals couldn’t
leave the United States and return
without first applying for a certificate
of re-entry.
This policy remained in place
until October 1st, 1888,
when the Scott Act prohibited
re-entry altogether,
stranding Chae Chan Ping and thousands
of other Chinese immigrants.
In court, Ping argued he had followed
the proper protocol
obtaining his re-entry certificate,
and the government had not honored
his legally issued document.
This argument was strong enough to send
his case all the way to the Supreme Court.
But the justices ruled against Ping,
invalidating thousands of legal re-entry
certificates in one fell swoop.
The decision led to Ping’s deportation
and left up to 20,000 Chinese immigrants
unable to return to the US.
But arguably even more important
than the court’s racist ruling
was the logic they used to support it.
Traditionally, the Supreme Court
is considered a check
on the other two branches
of American government,
offering judgment on policies passed
by Congress and the president.
In this case however,
the court stated they had no power
to pass judgment on the Scott Act,
since Congress had declared
the immigration policy
“a matter of national security.”
This decision set a unique precedent.
Unless Ping’s case was overturned,
congressional and executive branches could
claim national security concerns
to pass whatever immigration
laws they wanted.
Throughout the 20th century,
xenophobic government officials used
this power to freely discriminate
against immigrant groups.
The 1917 Asiatic Barred Zone Act
prohibited the entry of all South Asians.
And a series of immigration acts
in the 1920s
expanded restrictions throughout Asia,
Eastern Europe and southern Europe.
Many of these restrictions were
lifted after World War II,
and the Chinese Exclusion Act itself
was finally repealed in 1943—
over 60 years after it was enacted.
But the US government continues
to use this precedent
to deploy sudden and sweeping
immigration policies,
targeting journalists and dissidents
as well as ethnic groups.
Little is known about what became of
Chae Chan Ping following his deportation.
But the injustices visited upon him
and thousands of other Chinese Americans
continue to impact immigrant rights
and liberties.