The Luce–Celler Act of 1946, Pub. L. No. 79-483, 60 Stat. 416, is an Act of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

which provided a quota of 100

Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

and 100

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

from Asia to immigrate to the United States per year, which for the first time allowed these people to

naturalize Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

American citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

. Upon becoming citizens, these new Americans could own property under their names and even petition for their immediate family members from abroad. This Act is especially important because it recognizes the rights of these individuals–rights that were taken from them because of discrimination. The Luce–Celler Act was one of the first cracks in the racist “Asiatic Barred Zone” and 1917 Immigration Act, which banned almost all Asian immigration. It followed the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 (Magnuson Act)—marking a slow shift in policy. The Act was proposed by Republican

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce (; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, diplomat, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which had an all-female cast. He ...

and Democrat

Emanuel Celler Emanuel Celler (May 6, 1888 – January 15, 1981) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from New York (state), New York who represented parts of the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in the United Stat ...

in 1943 and signed into law by US President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

on July 2, 1946, two days before the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

became independent with the signing of the Treaty of Manila on July 4, 1946. Because of the imminent independence of the Philippines, Filipinos would have been barred from immigrating without the Act. Prior to 1946,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

nationals were not eligible to naturalize in the United States.
They were also not allowed to obtain any form of permanent residency, a legal status introduced later under the

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (), also known as the McCarran–Walter Act, codified under Title 8 of the United States Code (), governs immigration to and citizenship in the United States. It came into effect on June 27, 1952. The l ...

References

1946 in American law United States federal immigration and nationality legislation Indian-American history Pakistani-American history Filipino-American history Asian-American culture {{US-law-stub

See also

References