Home
Search Site
About MultiEducator
The Colonies
For Educators
American History
World Timeline
Election Central
NationbyNation
Primary Source Documents
20th Century Almanac
Aviation History
Navy History
Railroad History
America's Wars
Biographies

Amistadt

Civics

History of Israel
Other Links
About Historycentral
Advertise
Contact US

Immigration Act Of 1924

. . . The "Immigration act of 1924" . . . which supplants the so-called quota limit act of May 19, 1921, the latter having expired by limitation at the close of the fiscal year just ended, makes several very important changes not only in our immigration policy but also in the administrative machinery of the Immigration Service. Some of the more important changes in these respects will be bricfly referred to.
It will be remembered that the quota limit act of May, 1921, provided that the number of aliens of any nationality admissible to the United States in any fiscal year should be limited to 3 per cent of the number of persons of such nationality who were resident in the United States according to the census of 1910, it being also provided that not more than 20 per cent of any annual quota could be admitted in any one month. Under the act ot 1924 the number of each nationality who clay be admitted annually is limited to 2 per cent of the population of such nationality resident in the United States according to the census of 1890, and not more than 10 per cent of any annual quota may be admitted in any month except in cases where such quota is less than 300 for the entire year.
Under the act of May, 1921, the quota area was limited to Europe, the Near East, Africa, and Australasia. The countries of North and South America, with adjacent is lands, and countries immigration from which was otherwise regulated, such as China, Japan, and countries within the Asiatic barred zone, were not within the scope of the quota law. Under the new act, however, immigration from the entire world, with the exception of the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Republic of Mexico, the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Haiti, the Dominican Repuh lic, the Canal Zone, and independent coun tries of Central and South America, is subject to quota limitations. The various quotas established under the new law are shown in the following, proclamation of the President, issued on the last day of the present physical year:

BY TIIE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES - OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

Whereas it is provided in the act of Congress approved May 26, 1924, entitled "An act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States, and for other purposes" that—
"The annual quota of any nationality shall be two per centum of the number of foreignborn individuals of such nationality resident in continental United States as determined by the inited States census of 1890, but the minimunl quota of any nationality shall be 100 (Sec 11 (a))....
"The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor, jointly shall, as soon as feasible after the enactment of this act, prepare a statement showing the number of individuals of the various nationalities resident in continental United 2 States as determined by the United States census of 1890, which statement shall be the population basis for the purposes of subdivision (a) of section 11 (sec 12(b)).
"Such officials shall, jointly, report annually to the Prcsidcnt the quota of each nationality under subdivision (a) of section 11, together with the statements, estimates, and revisions provided for in this section. The President shall proclaim and make known the quotas 50 reported." (Sec. 12 (e)).
Now therefore, I, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States of America acting under and by virtue of the power in me vested by the aforesaid act of Congress, do hereby proclaim and make known that on and after July 1,1924, and throughout the fiscal year 1924-1925, the quota of each nationality provided in said Act shall be as follows:

Country or area of
birth Quota 1924-1925
Afghanistan 100
Albania 100
Andorra 100
Arabian peninsula (1, 2) .
100
Armenia 124
Australia, including
Papua,
Tasmania, and all islands
appertaining to Australia
Quota
19241925
(3, 4) 121
Austria 785
Belgium (5) 512
Bhutan 100
Bulgaria 100
Cameroon (proposed
British
mandate) 100
Cameroon (French
mandate) 100
China 100
Czechoslovakia
3,073
Danzig, Free City of 228
Denmark (5, 6)
2,789
Egypt 100
Esthonia 124
Ethiopia (Abyssinia) 100
Finland 170
France (1, 5, 6)
3,954
Germany
51,227
Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (
34,007
Greece 100
Hungary 473
Iceland 100
India (3) 100
Iraq (Mesopotamia) 100
Irish Free State (3)
28,567
Italy, including Rhodes, Do
dekanesia, and Castello
rizzo (5)
Japan .................
3,845
Latvia ................. 142 Liberia ..................100 Liechtenstein...... 100 ............. Lithuania.............344 Luxemberg..........100 Monaco ..............100 Morocco (French and Spanish Zones and Tangier) ..100
Muscat (Oman)100 Nauru (proposed British mandate) (4) ........100
Nepal 100 Netherlands (1, 5, 6) ...... New Zealand (including appertaining islands (3, 4) .100
Norway (5) ..............6,453 New Guinea, and other Pacific Islands under proposed Australian manadate(4).... 100
Palestine (with TransJordan, proposed British mandate) 100
Persia (1) ...........100 Poland ...........5,98
Portugal (1, 5) .......503
Ruanda and Urundi (Belgium mandate) ..............100
Rumania ...........603
Russia, European and Asiatic (1) ...........2,248.
Samoa, Western (4) (proposed mandate of New Zealand) ...........100
San Marino .........100
Siam ..............100
South Africa, Union of (3) ....100
South West Africa (proposed mandate of Union of South Africa) .......100
Spain (5) ............131
Sweden ..........9,561
Switzerland . .......2,081
Syria and The Lebanon (French mandate) ......100
Tanganyika (proposed British mandate) .........100
Togoland (proposed British mandate) ...........100
Togoland (French mandate)
Turkey ..............100
Yap and other Pacific islands (under Japanese mandate)...100
Yugoslavia 671

1. (a) Persons born in the portions of Persia, Russia, or the Arabian peninsula situated within the barred zone, and who are admissible under the immigration laws of the United States as quota immigrants, will be charged to the quotas of these countries; and (b) persons born in the colonies, dependencies, or protectorates, or portions thereof, within the barred zone, of France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, or Portugal, who are admissible
under the immigration laws of the United States as quota immigrants, will be charged to the quota of the country to which such colony or dependency belongs or by which it is administered as a protectorate.
2. The quota-area denominated "Arabian peninsula" consists of all territory except Muscat and Aden, situated in the portion of that peninsula and adjacent islands, to the southeast of Iraq, of Palestine with TransJordan, and of Egypt.
3. Quota immigrants born in the British self-governing dominions or in the Empire of India, will be charged to the appropriate quota rather than to that of Great Britain and Northern Ireland There are no quota restrictions for Canada and Newfoundland....
4. Quota immigrants eligible to citizenship in the United States, born in a colony, dependency, or protectorate of any country to which a quota applies will be charged to the quota of that country.
5. In contrast with the law of 1921, the immigration act of 1924 provides that persons born in the colonies or dependencies of European countries situated in Central America, South America, or the islands adjacent to the American continents (except Newfoundland and islands pertaining to Newfoundland, Labrador and Canada), will be charged to the quota of the country to which such colony or dependency belongs.

GENERAL NOTE.—The immigration quotas assigned to the various countries and quotaareas should not be regarded as having any political significance whatever or as involving recognition of new governments, or of new boundaries, or of transfers of territory except as the United States Government has already made such recognition in a formal and official manner....
CALVIN COOLIDGE.