Luce–Celler Act

Not to be confused with the Hart–Celler Act of 1965.

The Luce–Celler Act of 1946, Pub. L. No. 79-483, 60 Stat. 416, is an Act of the United States Congress which provided a quota of 100 Filipinos^[2] and 100 Indians from Asia to immigrate to the United States per year,^[3] which for the first time allowed these people to naturalize as American citizens.^[4][5] Upon becoming citizens, these new Americans could own property under their names and even petition for their immediate family members from abroad.^[6] This Act is especially important because it recognizes the rights of these individuals–rights that were taken from them because of discrimination.^[7] 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.^[8] It followed the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 (Magnuson Act)—marking a slow shift in policy.

Luce–Celler Act

Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 79–483
Statutes at Large	60 Stat. 416
Legislative history
Signed into law by President Harry Truman on July 2, 1946

US President Harry Truman signing into law the Luce–Celler Act in 1946^[1]

The Act was proposed by Republican Clare Boothe Luce and Democrat Emanuel Celler in 1943 and signed into law by US President Harry S. Truman on July 2, 1946, two days before the Philippines 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.^[9]

Prior to 1946, Indian nationals were not eligible to naturalize in the United States.^[10][11] 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.

See also

• Asian immigration to the United States
• United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923)