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Chinese Migration Essay

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Chinese immigration is a popular subject for many scholars that research the inconsistencies and patterns of Chinese migration. Prior to World War II, Chinese migration was strictly regulated and deeply connoted negative feelings against Chinese immigrants, yet it did not influx the United States until the early 1880’s with the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. Chinese migration is particularly important, because unlike European immigrants that travelled with families, Chinese immigrants travelled alone which created bachelor societies, or Chinatowns. After the U.S. initiated the quota system, Chinese migration shifted from laborers to professionals and students. That being said, Chinese immigrants have faced constant…show more content…
(Zhou 2017: Week 1). Finally, the Hua-yi are Chinese immigrants who came to the U.S. after the passing of the Hart Cellar Act in 1965. Hua-yi immigrants are the most common today and are strongly diverse in ethnicity and social economic status, they also no longer see China as their “homeland” and usually obtain dual residency (Zhou 2017: Week 1). Before 1965, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the main immigration policy that affected Chinese immigration. The Exclusion Act passed in 1882 aimed at preventing the migration of any Chinese laborer into the U.S. in order to preserve the racial hegemony and conserve the Anglo-Saxon “American” (Zhou 2017: Week 2). The Chinese Exclusion Act was originally enacted to last ten years and excluded merchants and their families, business owners, students and diplomats. However, immigration officials asked for proper identification plus documentation approved by the Chinese government that stated the person’s height, weight, official rank, age, and physical peculiarities (“Chinese Exclusion Act” 1882: 77-8). The Exclusion Act was later modified through the Geary Act in 1892 to add more provisions and lengthened the Exclusion an additional ten years (Zhou 2017: Week 2). Additionally, European immigrants also saw Chinese immigrants as a threat since Chinese immigrants worked for the lowest wages and were used as strikebreakers against European immigrants when fighting for minimum wages (Zhou 2017: Week 2). U.S. Congress continued
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