The Hart-Celler Act of 1965—formally the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965—was a landmark piece of legislation that fundamentally transformed American society by abolishing the discriminatory "national origins" quota system.
Key Provisions
• Abolished National Quotas: It ended the system established in the 1920s that favored Northern and Western Europeans and virtually banned immigrants from Asia, Africa, and parts of Southern and Eastern Europe.
• Established Preference Categories: Entry was instead based on a seven-category preference system prioritizing:
◦ Family Reunification: Visas for relatives of U.S. citizens and legal residents (accounting for about 74% of the total).
◦ Professional Skills: Visas for workers with specialized skills or "exceptional ability".
◦ Refugee Status: A formal avenue for those fleeing political turmoil or natural disasters.
• Hemispheric Caps: For the first time, it imposed a numerical limit on immigration from the Western Hemisphere (120,000 annually) while setting a 170,000 cap for the Eastern Hemisphere.
Historical Significance
• Signed at the Statue of Liberty: President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act on October 3, 1965, calling the old system "un-American".
• Civil Rights Context: The act was seen as an extension of the civil rights movement, aiming to eliminate racial and ethnic bias from federal law alongside the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• Demographic Shift: While sponsors initially claimed it would not "upset the ethnic mix," the law led to a dramatic increase in immigration from Asia and Latin America. In 1965, the U.S. was approximately 85% white; by 2015, that figure dropped to 62%.
Unintended Consequences
• Chain Migration: The heavy emphasis on family reunification allowed for "chain migration," where one immigrant could eventually sponsor numerous extended family members.
• Illegal Immigration: By capping Western Hemisphere immigration and ending the Bracero Program (guest worker program) in 1964, the act inadvertently laid the groundwork for a rise in undocumented immigration from Mexico and Central America.
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