Grover Cleveland: “The cruel treatment of inoffensive Chinese has, I regret to say, been repeated in some of the far Western States and…”

A radical departure from our national policy relating to immigration is here presented.

This requirement proceeds upon the assumption that the foreign relatives coming here are in every case, by reason of poverty, liable to become a public charge unless the immigrant is capable of their support.

In my opinion, it is infinitely more safe to admit a hundred thousand immigrants who, though unable to read and write, seek among us only a home and opportunity to work than to admit one of those unruly agitators and enemies of…

The time is quite within recent memory when the same thing was said of immigrants who, with their descendants, are now numbered among our best citizens.