Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague, Senator Scott Brown, in submitting a resolution that expresses the regret of the U.S. Senate for the passage of discriminatory laws against Chinese immigrants. These laws are no longer in effect today. However, I believe it is important for Congress to express regret for the many injustices that were experienced by Chinese immigrants as a result of these policies, and for all of us as Americans to learn from this difficult chapter in our Nation's past. Let me begin by offering a brief history of the Chinese Exclusion Act. In the 1870s, an economic downturn created political pressure to slow the growing population of Chinese immigrants who were coming to the United States to pursue a better way of life. In California, State laws and local ordinances were enacted that denied the Chinese basic rights and privileges such as the right to own land and the ability to access public schools. At the urging of some California lawmakers, the U.S. Congress subsequently passed laws that further denied the rights of Chinese immigrants. The harshest of those measures was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that explicitly prohibited all State and Federal courts from naturalizing Chinese persons. This legislation was the first federal law ever enacted to exclude a group of immigrants solely on the basis of race or nationality.…”