[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 1, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H3809-H3810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT OF 1882

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu).
  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce an action to address 
an injustice carried out on this very floor that Congress has never 
atoned for, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
  A century ago, the Chinese came here in search of a better life; but 
they faced harsh conditions, particularly in the Halls of Congress. 
Congress passed numerous laws to restrict Chinese Americans, starting 
from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, to stop the Chinese from 
immigrating, from becoming naturalized citizens, and from ever having 
the right to vote.
  These were the only such laws to target a specific ethnic group. The 
Chinese were the only residents that had to carry papers on them at all 
times. They were often harassed and detained. If they couldn't produce 
the proper documents, authorities threw them into prison or out of the 
country, regardless of their citizenship status. Political cartoons and 
hateful banners like these were hung in towns and cities and printed in 
papers. At that time of this hateful law, the Chinese were called 
racial slurs, were spat upon in the streets, and even brutally 
murdered.
  Only after China became an ally of the U.S. in World War II was this 
law repealed in 1943, 60 years after its passage. It has never been 
formally acknowledged by Congress as incompatible with America's 
founding principles.
  That is why, as the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, 
and whose grandfather was a victim of this law, I stand on the very 
floor where the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed and announce that I 
have introduced a resolution calling for a formal acknowledgment and 
expression of regret for the Chinese exclusion laws.
  When the exclusion laws were first introduced, there was a great deal 
of debate in Congress over their merits. The U.S. had just abolished 
slavery. The 14th and 15th Amendments had recently been ratified. 
Slavery had been defeated, and freedom seemed more certain. The 
national atmosphere led many in Congress to stand up against the 
discriminatory anti-Chinese laws. But over the years, those standing 
for justice almost all disappeared. By the time 1882 came around, 
Members of Congress were fighting over who deserved the most credit for 
getting the most discriminatory laws passed and standing against the 
``Mongolian horde.''
  Representative Albert Shelby Willis from Kentucky pushed relentlessly 
for the exclusion laws, lambasting the Chinese. Standing in the same 
spot where I am now, he said the Chinese were ``an invading race'' and 
called them ``alien with sordid and un-republican habits.'' He declared 
the ``U.S. was cursed with the evils of Chinese immigration'' and that 
they disturbed the ``peace and order of society.''
  But there were a brave few, a small minority who fought hard against 
prejudice and principles of freedom. One such man was Senator George 
Frisbie Hoar, whose statue now stands proudly in the Capitol. He stood 
up to all of the Chinese exclusion laws and voted against each. He said 
in 1904 when the laws were made permanent, ``I cannot agree with the 
principle that this legislation or any legislation on the subject

[[Page H3810]]

rests. All races, all colors, all nationalities contain persons 
entitled to be recognized everywhere as equals of other men. I am bound 
to record my protest, if I stand alone.''
  And stand alone he did. The final vote against the Chinese in the 
Senate was 76-1. What Senator Hoar stood up for is what I am asking 
Congress to stand up for today: that all people, no matter the color of 
their skin, or the nation of origin, are the equals of every other man 
or woman.
  America came to be what it is today through immigrants who came from 
all corners of the world. Chinese immigrants were amongst them. They 
sought a place to live that was founded upon liberty and equality. They 
came in search of the American Dream--that if you worked hard, you 
could build a good life. It is why my grandfather came to the United 
States.
  But when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, the truths that this 
Nation holds as self-evident--that all are endowed with the inalienable 
rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--were discounted 
by the very ones elected to uphold them.
  And so for a generation of our ancestors, like my grandfather, who 
were told for six decades by the U.S. Government that the land of the 
free wasn't open to them, it is long past time that Congress officially 
and formally acknowledges these ugly laws that targeted Chinese 
immigrants, and express sincere regret for these actions.
  With my resolution, Congress will acknowledge the injustice of the 
Chinese Exclusion Act, express regret for the lives it destroyed, and 
make sure that the prejudice that stained our Nation is never repeated 
again. And it will demonstrate that today is a different day and that 
today we stand side by side for a stronger America.

                          ____________________