Timeline: Asian-American History, 20th Century

Updated July 22, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Asian immigration to America, 1600s to the present

by David Johnson
1900s 1913 1920s 1940s Next: 1950–Present

1903

Korean workers enter Hawaii. Filipino students arrive in U.S under the pensionado program, an effort to modernize and democratize the Philippines.

1907

Filipino laborers land in Hawaii. Asian Indians driven from Bellingham, Washington.

1913

California passes law to prevent aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning land.

1924

In response to concerns about rising immigration, Immigration Act establishes strict quotas based on national origin according to the 1880 census, effectively ending Asian immigration.

1942

In wake of anti-Japanese sentiment following the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt signs order interning Japanese.

1943

Congress repeals Chinese exclusion laws, sets immigration quotas, and extends citizenship rights to Chinese living in U.S.

1949

Communist Revolution in China, 5,000 Chinese refugees enter U.S.

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