[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 149 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6352-S6354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING SENATE REGRET
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary
Committee be discharged from further consideration of and the Senate
proceed to S. Res. 201.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 201) expressing the regret of the
Senate for the passage of discriminatory laws against the
Chinese in America, including the Chinese Exclusion Act.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, beginning more than 140 years ago, Congress
enacted a series of racist and discriminatory laws directed
specifically at persons of Chinese descent. Collectively known as the
Chinese Exclusion Laws, these laws remained in force for more than 60
years, and were repealed only as a matter of wartime expediency during
World War II. These laws conflicted directly with the fundamental
principles of equality and justice upon which our Nation was founded.
It is long past time for Congress to affirmatively reject the ignorance
and hate that spurred passage of those laws.
S. Res. 201 reflects the Senate's regret for the passage of those
unjust laws, but also affirms our commitment to ensuring that such
policies never become law again. I commend the individuals and
organizations that have advocated for this important resolution.
The Chinese Exclusion Laws reflected a climate of intolerance and
xenophobia that viewed immigrants of Chinese descent as inferior and
incapable of assimilating as loyal Americans. Fueled in large part by
an economic crisis and fears that Chinese immigrants would take jobs
away from other workers, the hostility against Chinese immigrants
sometimes turned violent. Through a number of state laws and ordinances
in many Western states and several questionable court rulings, Chinese
immigrants were systematically deprived of fundamental civil rights and
privileges, rights that should be guaranteed to all by our
Constitution.
Eventually, political pressure led Congress to prohibit the
immigration of all Chinese persons into the United States. The Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882 explicitly banned Chinese immigrants from
entering the United States for 10 years, and this ban was renewed and
ultimately made permanent by Congress through subsequent enactments. In
passing these laws, Congress failed to adhere to our Nation's basic
founding principles that all are created equal, and that all persons
deserve basic human and civil rights. Instead, Congress allowed fear
and ignorance to drive our Nation's immigration policy and, for the
first time, to exclude from our country a single group of people based
solely on their race.
That was wrong. Ours in a Nation of immigrants and of equality and
these laws offended both of those fundamental precepts of America.
While Congress was right to repeal the Chinese Exclusions Laws in
1943, it is important to note that Congress was motivated primarily by
the fear that the Japanese would use the racist laws as part of its
propaganda campaign to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its Chinese
allies. The repeal of the Chinese Exclusions Laws was not accompanied
by any genuine sense of regret for the decades of discriminatory
policies, or any proclamation by the Congress that it would guard in
the future against the type of racism and xenophobia that allowed such
laws to pass in the first place. Instead, the exclusion laws were
simply supplanted by application of strict race-based quotas that
remained in place for more than 20 years. Let us not forget that at the
same time that Congress was repealing the Chinese Exclusion Laws, the
U.S. Government was imprisoning thousands of loyal Americans of
Japanese descent in internment camps throughout the West. Thus, the
repeal of the exclusion laws in 1943 can hardly be viewed as a genuine
acknowledgement by Congress of the racist nature of its actions. In
order to close the book on this series of unjust laws, I urge support
of this resolution to express the Senate's regret, albeit belatedly,
for these shameful pieces of legislation.
Going forward, this resolution also reaffirms our commitment to the
principles of equality and justice upon which our Nation was founded. I
was disappointed that, at the insistence of some anonymous Republicans,
the resolution is being stripped by amendment of any reference to the
Constitution of the United States. That is inexplicable to me. No one
has anyone come forward to take responsibility for this change. It is
being done in the shadows, without accountability. I believe that the
Chinese Exclusion Laws were incompatible with the spirit, and indeed
the text, of our Constitution, our fundamental charter. I challenge
whoever felt it necessary to remove the original reference in our
resolution to the affront to the Constitution to come forward and
explain why they were blocking this resolution unless that change was
made.
Contrary to the claims in the 1880s that Chinese immigrants looked,
acted, and sounded too different--too foreign--to ever become loyal
Americans, we have all witnessed the incredible contributions that
Chinese Americans have made to our country. America has come a long way
since the days of the Chinese Exclusion Laws. I hope that we all
appreciate how our Nation's diversity makes America better and
stronger.
[[Page S6353]]
As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I have supported the
nominations and recognized the service of many Americans of Chinese
descent serving as attorneys and judges throughout the country, such as
former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee, and
Federal Judges Denny Chin, Edmond Chang, Ed Chen, and Dolly Gee. I am
also mindful of the service of the late Thomas Tang, a Chinese American
trailblazer on the Federal judiciary.
I hope that passage of S. Res. 201 will mark a step in the Senate's
progress toward greater commitment to protecting the civil and
constitutional rights of all Americans, regardless of race or
ethnicity. Unfortunately, in these tough economic times, it is not
difficult to hear echoes of the intolerance that led to the Chinese
Exclusion Laws in some of the rhetoric of recent immigration debates.
Congress should not legislate out of fear and intolerance, and we must
not allow laws like the Chinese Exclusions Laws ever to pass again.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Brown of Massachusetts
amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to; the resolution, as
amended, be agreed to; the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to
reconsider be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 737) was agreed to, as follows:
On page 9, line 1, strike ``That the Senate--''.
On page 9, between lines 1 and 2, insert the following:
SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND EXPRESSION OF REGRET.
The Senate--
On page 10, strike line 1 and all that follows through
``(3)'' on line 5, and insert ``(2)''.
On page 10, line 11, strike ``(4)'' and insert ``(3)''.
On page 10, after line 15, add the following:
SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER.
Nothing in this resolution may be construed--
(1) to authorize or support any claim against the United
States; or
(2) to serve as a settlement of any claim against the
United States.
The resolution (S. Res. 201), as amended, was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 201
Whereas many Chinese came to the United States in the 19th
and 20th centuries, as did people from other countries, in
search of the opportunity to create a better life for
themselves and their families;
Whereas the contributions of persons of Chinese descent in
the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction,
fishing, and canning industries were critical to establishing
the foundations for economic growth in the Nation,
particularly in the western United States;
Whereas United States industrialists recruited thousands of
Chinese workers to assist in the construction of the Nation's
first major national transportation infrastructure, the
Transcontinental Railroad;
Whereas Chinese laborers, who made up the majority of the
western portion of the railroad workforce, faced grueling
hours and extremely harsh conditions in order to lay hundreds
of miles of track and were paid substandard wages;
Whereas without the tremendous efforts and technical
contributions of these Chinese immigrants, the completion of
this vital national infrastructure would have been seriously
impeded;
Whereas from the middle of the 19th century through the
early 20th century, Chinese immigrants faced racial ostracism
and violent assaults, including--
(1) the 1887 Snake River Massacre in Oregon, at which 31
Chinese miners were killed; and
(2) numerous other incidents, including attacks on Chinese
immigrants in Rock Springs, San Francisco, Tacoma, and Los
Angeles;
Whereas the United States instigated the negotiation of the
Burlingame Treaty, ratified by the Senate on October 19,
1868, which permitted the free movement of the Chinese people
to, from, and within the United States and accorded to China
the status of ``most favored nation'';
Whereas before consenting to the ratification of the
Burlingame Treaty, the Senate required that the Treaty would
not permit Chinese immigrants in the United States to be
naturalized United States citizens;
Whereas on July 14, 1870, Congress approved An Act to Amend
the Naturalization Laws and to Punish Crimes against the
Same, and for other Purposes, and during consideration of
such Act, the Senate expressly rejected an amendment to allow
Chinese immigrants to naturalize;
Whereas Chinese immigrants were subject to the overzealous
implementation of the Page Act of 1875 (18 Stat. 477),
which--
(1) ostensibly barred the importation of women from
``China, Japan, or any Oriental country'' for purposes of
prostitution;
(2) was disproportionately enforced against Chinese women,
effectively preventing the formation of Chinese families in
the United States and limiting the number of native-born
Chinese citizens;
Whereas, on February 15, 1879, the Senate passed ``the
Fifteen Passenger Bill,'' which would have limited the number
of Chinese passengers permitted on any ship coming to the
United States to 15, with proponents of the bill expressing
that the Chinese were ``an indigestible element in our midst
. . . without any adaptability to become citizens'';
Whereas, on March 1, 1879, President Hayes vetoed the
Fifteen Passenger Bill as being incompatible with the
Burlingame Treaty, which declared that ``Chinese subjects
visiting or residing in the United States, shall enjoy the
same privileges . . . in respect to travel or residence, as
may there be enjoyed by the citizens and subjects of the most
favored nation'';
Whereas in the aftermath of the veto of the Fifteen
Passenger Bill, President Hayes initiated the renegotiation
of the Burlingame Treaty, requesting that the Chinese
government consent to restrictions on the immigration of
Chinese persons to the United States;
Whereas these negotiations culminated in the Angell Treaty,
ratified by the Senate on May 9, 1881, which--
(1) allowed the United States to suspend, but not to
prohibit, the immigration of Chinese laborers;
(2) declared that ``Chinese laborers who are now in the
United States shall be allowed to go and come of their own
free will''; and
(3) reaffirmed that Chinese persons possessed ``all the
rights, privileges, immunities, and exemptions which are
accorded to the citizens and subjects of the most favored
nation'';
Whereas, on March 9, 1882, the Senate passed the first
Chinese Exclusion Act, which purported to implement the
Angell Treaty but instead excluded for 20 years both skilled
and unskilled Chinese laborers, rejected an amendment that
would have permitted the naturalization of Chinese persons,
and instead expressly denied Chinese persons the right to be
naturalized as American citizens;
Whereas, on April 4, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur
vetoed the first Chinese Exclusion Act as being incompatible
with the terms and spirit of the Angell Treaty;
Whereas, on May 6, 1882, Congress passed the second Chinese
Exclusion Act, which--
(1) prohibited skilled and unskilled Chinese laborers from
entering the United States for 10 years;
(2) was the first Federal law that excluded a single group
of people on the basis of race; and
(3) required certain Chinese laborers already legally
present in the United States who later wished to reenter to
obtain ``certificates of return'', an unprecedented
requirement that applied only to Chinese residents;
Whereas in response to reports that courts were bestowing
United States citizenship on persons of Chinese descent, the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 explicitly prohibited all State
and Federal courts from naturalizing Chinese persons;
Whereas the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 underscored the
belief of some Senators at that time that--
(1) the Chinese people were unfit to be naturalized;
(2) the social characteristics of the Chinese were
``revolting'';
(3) Chinese immigrants were ``like parasites''; and
(4) the United States ``is under God a country of
Caucasians, a country of white men, a country to be governed
by white men'';
Whereas, on July 3, 1884, notwithstanding United States
treaty obligations with China and other nations, Congress
broadened the scope of the Chinese Exclusion Act--
(1) to apply to all persons of Chinese descent, ``whether
subjects of China or any other foreign power''; and
(2) to provide more stringent requirements restricting
Chinese immigration;
Whereas, on October 1, 1888, the Scott Act was enacted into
law, which--
(1) prohibited all Chinese laborers who would choose or had
chosen to leave the United States from reentering;
(2) cancelled all previously issued ``certificates of
return'', which prevented approximately 20,000 Chinese
laborers abroad, including 600 individuals who were en route
to the United States, from returning to their families or
their homes; and
(3) was later determined by the Supreme Court to have
abrogated the Angell Treaty;
Whereas, on May 5, 1892, the Geary Act was enacted into
law, which--
(1) extended the Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 years;
(2) required all Chinese persons in the United States, but
no other race of people, to register with the Federal
Government in order to obtain ``certificates of residence'';
and
(3) denied Chinese immigrants the right to be released on
bail upon application for a writ of habeas corpus;
Whereas on an explicitly racial basis, the Geary Act deemed
the testimony of Chinese persons, including American citizens
of Chinese descent, per se insufficient to establish the
residency of a Chinese person subject to deportation,
mandating that such residence
[[Page S6354]]
be established through the testimony of ``at least one
credible white witness'';
Whereas in the 1894 Gresham-Yang Treaty, the Chinese
government consented to a prohibition of Chinese immigration
and the enforcement of the Geary Act in exchange for the
readmission of previous Chinese residents;
Whereas in 1898, the United States--
(1) annexed Hawaii;
(2) took control of the Philippines; and
(3) excluded thousands of racially Chinese residents of
Hawaii and of the Philippines from entering the United States
mainland;
Whereas on April 29, 1902, Congress--
(1) indefinitely extended all laws regulating and
restricting Chinese immigration and residence; and
(2) expressly applied such laws to United States insular
territories, including the Philippines;
Whereas in 1904, after the Chinese government exercised its
unilateral right to withdraw from the Gresham-Yang Treaty,
Congress permanently extended, ``without modification,
limitation, or condition'', all restrictions on Chinese
immigration and naturalization, making the Chinese the only
racial group explicitly singled out for immigration exclusion
and permanently ineligible for American citizenship;
Whereas between 1910 and 1940, the Angel Island Immigration
Station implemented the Chinese exclusion laws by--
(1) confining Chinese persons for up to nearly 2 years;
(2) interrogating Chinese persons; and
(3) providing a model for similar immigration stations at
other locations on the Pacific coast and in Hawaii;
Whereas each of the congressional debates concerning issues
of Chinese civil rights, naturalization, and immigration
involved intensely racial rhetoric, with many Members of
Congress claiming that all persons of Chinese descent were--
(1) unworthy of American citizenship;
(2) incapable of assimilation into American society; and
(3) dangerous to the political and social integrity of the
United States;
Whereas the express discrimination in these Federal
statutes politically and racially stigmatized Chinese
immigration into the United States, enshrining in law the
exclusion of the Chinese from the political process and the
promise of American freedom;
Whereas wartime enemy forces used the anti-Chinese
legislation passed in Congress as evidence of American racism
against the Chinese, attempting to undermine the Chinese-
American alliance and allied military efforts;
Whereas, in 1943, at the urging of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, and over 60 years after the enactment of the first
discriminatory laws against Chinese immigrants, Congress--
(1) repealed previously enacted anti-Chinese legislation;
and
(2) permitted Chinese immigrants to become naturalized
United States citizens;
Whereas despite facing decades of systematic, pervasive,
and sustained discrimination, Chinese immigrants and Chinese-
Americans persevered and have continued to play a significant
role in the growth and success of the United States;
Whereas 6 decades of Federal legislation deliberately
targeting Chinese by race--
(1) restricted the capacity of generations of individuals
and families to openly pursue the American dream without
fear; and
(2) fostered an atmosphere of racial discrimination that
deeply prejudiced the civil rights of Chinese immigrants;
Whereas diversity is one of our Nation's greatest
strengths, and, while this Nation was founded on the
principle that all persons are created equal, the laws
enacted by Congress in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
that restricted the political and civil rights of persons of
Chinese descent violated that principle;
Whereas although an acknowledgment of the Senate's actions
that contributed to discrimination against persons of Chinese
descent will not erase the past, such an expression will
acknowledge and illuminate the injustices in our national
experience and help to build a better and stronger Nation;
Whereas the Senate recognizes the importance of addressing
this unique framework of discriminatory laws in order to
educate the public and future generations regarding the
impact of these laws on Chinese and other Asian persons and
their implications to all Americans; and
Whereas the Senate deeply regrets the enactment of the
Chinese Exclusion Act and related discriminatory laws that--
(1) resulted in the persecution and political alienation of
persons of Chinese descent;
(2) unfairly limited their civil rights;
(3) legitimized racial discrimination; and
(4) induced trauma that persists within the Chinese
community: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND EXPRESSION OF REGRET.
The Senate--
(1) acknowledges that this framework of anti-Chinese
legislation, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, is
incompatible with the basic founding principles recognized in
the Declaration of Independence that all persons are created
equal;
(2) deeply regrets passing 6 decades of legislation
directly targeting the Chinese people for physical and
political exclusion and the wrongs committed against Chinese
and American citizens of Chinese descent who suffered under
these discriminatory laws; and
(3) reaffirms its commitment to preserving the same civil
rights and constitutional protections for people of Chinese
or other Asian descent in the United States accorded to all
others, regardless of their race or ethnicity.
SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER.
Nothing in this resolution may be construed--
(1) to authorize or support any claim against the United
States; or
(2) to serve as a settlement of any claim against the
United States.
____________________