Anti-Immigration
Two groups that wanted to stop or limit immigration were also formed in the late 1800s.
The American Protective Association and the Immigration Restoration League were founded in 1887 and lobbied government officials to enact federal legislation to control the immigrant population. Legislation was passed to bar convicts and those who were mentally challenged from becoming citizens. A fiftycent tax was also placed upon each immigrant.
Large groups of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrants settled in San Francisco. In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to segregate Asian students and place them in separate schools. Though it was deemed illegal by the federal government, it didn’t change the sentiment toward the immigrant groups. This vote upset the Japanese government as well. The state of California, in turn, passed the Webb Alien Land Law, which banned Asians who were not citizens from owning farm land.
In 1907 the U.S. Immigration Act was passed to reorganize states that bordered Mexico (Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) into a special district called the Mexican Border District. The purpose was to control the number of immigrants who crossed the border into the United States.