Prior to 1965, immigration was set up on a quota system and allowed 2% of nationalities that America favored, which was Western Europe. Some countries were not allowed to immigrate to the U.S., such as China and the Philippines. From 1924-1965 approximately 6 million people legally immigrated to the United States. By 1960 some countries were claiming that the U.S. immigration policy was discriminating against them. With the civil rights movement happening, President John F. Kennedy and the Democratic Party moved to change the immigration policy.
Immigration Reform Act
In 1965, after Kennedy was assassinated, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Naturalization Act. The Act allowed for everyone around the world an equal opportunity to immigrate to the U.S. Just prior to signing the Act, President Johnson said to the people "This bill that we will sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions, it will not reshape the structure of our daily lives or add importantly to either our wealth or our power." The main purpose of the new law was to reunite families and allowed U.S. citizens and resident aliens to petition for their relatives to be allowed in the United States. These new immigrants would not be counted towards the number of new
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The Commission 's recommendations were summed up as follows by its chairman, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh: "We recommend closing the back door to undocumented, illegal migration, opening the front door a little more to accommodate legal migration in the interests of this country, defining our immigration goals clearly and providing a structure to implement them effectively, and setting forth procedures which will lead to fair and efficient adjudication and administration of U.S. immigration