Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary

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Chinese Exclusion Act: Passed by Congress in 1882 and signed by President Chester A. Arthur, this act suspended all immigration by Chinese workers. Even those already within the U.S. were barred from receiving U.S. citizenship and had to register with U.S. authorities. The Chinese Exclusion Act and its successors were abolished in 1943 by President Franklin Roosevelt, apparently as a means of currying favor with the Chinese as allies in World War II.