1905 Aliens Act: Unrestricted Immigration Of The Victorian Era

262 Words2 Pages
The 1905 Aliens Act, which ended the long period of unrestricted immigration of the Victorian era, was introduced in order to bar the entry of poor East-European Jewish immigrants and, was opposed by the British political left. Regardless of individual opinions about the Jewish immigrants or anti-Semitism, British socialists from the various socialist organizations officially objected to putting restrictions on Britain’s border which had been hitherto open to any nationality. One might say it is not surprising for any left to take such stance, since socialist ideologies put a great emphasis on international solidarity and brotherhood of workers and inherently oppose anything with a taint of racism. Anti-alienism directed against the Jewish