Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 - wikipedia Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 `` The template Infobox U.S. legislation is being considered for merging. '' Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 Long title An Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act Acronyms ( colloquial ) INA of 1965 Nicknames Hart -- Celler Enacted by the 89th United States Congress Effective June 30, 1968 Citations Public law Pub. L. 89 -- 236 Statutes at Large 79 Stat. 911 Codification Acts amended Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 Titles amended 8 U.S.C. : Aliens and Nationality U.S.C. sections amended 8 U.S.C. ch. 12 ( § § 1101, 1151 -- 1157, 1181 -- 1182, 1201, 1254 -- 1255, 1259, 1322, 1351 ) Legislative history Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 2580 by Rep. Emanuel Celler ( D - NY ) Committee consideration by Judiciary Passed the House on August 25, 1965 ( 318 -- 95 ) Passed the Senate on September 22, 1965 ( 76 -- 18 ) with amendment House agreed to Senate amendment on September 30, 1965 ( 320 -- 70 ) Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 3, 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ( H.R. 2580 ; Pub. L. 89 -- 236, 79 Stat. 911, enacted June 30, 1968 ), also known as the Hart -- Celler Act, changed the way quotas were allocated by ending the National Origins Formula that had been in place in the United States since the Emergency Quota Act of 1921. Representative Emanuel Celler of New York proposed the bill, Senator Philip Hart of Michigan co-sponsored it, and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts helped to promote it. The Hart -- Celler Act abolished the quota system based on national origins that had been American immigration policy since the 1920s. The 1965 Act marked a change from past U.S. policy which had discriminated against non-northern Europeans. In removing racial and national barriers the Act would significantly, and unintentionally, alter the demographic mix in the U.S. The new law maintained the per - country limits, but also created preference visa categories that focused on immigrants ' skills and family relationships with citizens or U.S. residents. The bill set numerical restrictions on visas at 170,000 per year, with a per - country - of - origin quota. However, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and `` special immigrants '' had no restrictions. Contents 1 Background 2 Provisions 3 Wages under Foreign Certification 4 Legislative history 5 Long - term impact 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Background The Hart -- Celler Act of 1965 marked a radical break from the immigration policies of the past. Previous laws restricted immigration from Asia and Africa, and gave preference to northern and western Europeans over southern and eastern Europeans. In the 1960s, the United States faced both foreign and domestic pressures to change its nation - based formula, which was regarded as a system that discriminated based on an individual 's place of birth. Abroad, former military allies and new independent nations aimed to delegitimize discriminatory immigration, naturalization and regulations through international organizations like the United Nations. In the United States, the national - based formula had been under scrutiny for a number of years. In 1952, President Truman had directed the Commission on Immigration and Naturalization to conduct an investigation and produce a report on the current immigration regulations. The report, Whom We Shall Welcome, served as the blueprint for the Hart -- Celler Act. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement the restrictive immigration laws were seen as an embarrassment. President Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 act into law at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. The immigration into the country of `` sexual deviants '', including homosexuals, was still prohibited under the legislation. The INS continued to deny entry to homosexual prospective immigrants on the grounds that they were `` mentally defective '', or had a `` constitutional psychopathic inferiority '' until the Immigration Act of 1990 rescinded the provision discriminating against gay people. Provisions The Hart -- Celler Act amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 ( McCarran - Walter Act ), while it upheld many provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924. It maintained per - country limits, which had been a feature of U.S. immigration policy since the 1920s, and it developed preference categories. One of the main components aimed to abolish the national - origins quota. This meant that it eliminated national origin, race, and ancestry as basis for immigration. It created a seven - category preference system, which gave priority to relatives of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and to professionals and other individuals with specialized skills. Immediate relatives and `` special immigrants '' were not subject to numerical restrictions. Some of the `` special immigrants '' include ministers, former employees of the U.S. government, foreign medical graduates, among others. For the first time, immigration from the Western Hemisphere was limited. It added a labor certification requirement, which dictated that the Secretary of Labor needed to certify labor shortages. Refugees were given the seventh and last category preference with the possibility of adjusting their status. However, refugees could enter the United States through other means as well like those seeking temporary asylum. Wages under foreign certification As per the rules under the Immigration and Nationality Act ( INA ), U.S. organizations are permitted to employ foreign workers either temporarily or permanently to fulfill certain types of job requirement. The Employment and Training Administration ( ETA ) under the U.S. Department of Labor ( DOL ) is the body that usually provides certification to employers allowing them to hire foreign workers in order to bridge qualified and skilled labor gaps in certain business areas. Employers must confirm that they are unable to hire American workers willing to perform the job for wages paid by employers for the same occupation in the intended area of employment. However, some unique rules are applied to each category of visas. They are as follows : H - 1B and H - 1B1 Specialty ( Professional ) Workers should have a pay, as per the prevailing wage -- an average wage that is paid to a person employed in the same occupation in the area of employment ; or that the employer pays its workers the actual wage paid to people having similar skills and qualifications. H - 2A Agricultural Workers should have the highest pay in accordance to the ( a ) Adverse Effect Wage Rate ( AEWR ), ( b ) the present rate for a particular crop or area, or ( c ) the state or federal minimum wage. The law also stipulates requirements like employer - sponsored meals and transportation of the employees as well as restrictions on deducting from the workers ' wages. H - 2B Non-agricultural Workers should receive a pay that is in accordance with the prevailing wage ( mean wage paid to a worker employed in a similar occupation in the concerned area of employment ). D - 1 Crewmembers ( longshore work ) should be paid the current wage ( mean wage paid to a person employed in a similar occupation in the respective area of employment ). Permanent Employment of Aliens should be employed after the employer has agreed to provide and pay as per the prevailing wage trends and that it should be decided on the basis of one of the many alternatives provisioned under the said Act. This rule has to be followed the moment the Alien has been granted with permanent residency or the Alien has been admitted in the United States so as to take the required position. Legislative History October 3, 1965 : President Lyndon Johnson visits the Statue of Liberty to sign the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The Hart -- Celler Act was widely supported in Congress. Senator Philip A. Hart introduced the administration - backed immigration bill which was reported to the Senate Judiciary Committee 's Immigration and Naturalization Subcommittee. Representative Emanuel Celler introduced the bill in the House of Representatives, which voted 320 to 70 in favor of the act, while the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 76 to 18. In the Senate, 52 Democrats voted yes, 14 no, and 1 abstained. Among Senate Republicans, 24 voted yes, 3 voted no, and 1 abstained. In the House, 202 Democrats voted yes, 60 voted no and 12 abstained, 118 Republicans voted yes, 10 voted no and 11 abstained. In total, 74 % of Democrats and 85 % of Republicans voted for passage of this bill. Most of the no votes were from the American South, which was then still strongly Democratic. During debate on the Senate floor, Senator Kennedy, speaking of the effects of the act, said, `` our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset ''. Michael A. Feighan and other conservative Democrats had insisted that `` family unification '' should take priority over `` employability '', on the premise that such a weighting would maintain the existing ethnic profile of the country. That change in policy instead resulted in chain migration dominating the subsequent patterns of immigration to the United States and consequently a more ethnically diverse population. On October 3, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the legislation into law, saying, `` This ( old ) system violates the basic principle of American democracy, the principle that values and rewards each man on the basis of his merit as a man. It has been un-American in the highest sense, because it has been untrue to the faith that brought thousands to these shores even before we were a country ''. Long - term impact The proponents of the Hart -- Celler Act argued that it would not significantly influence United States culture. President Johnson called the bill `` not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. '' Secretary of State Dean Rusk and other politicians, including Senator Ted Kennedy, asserted that the bill would not affect US demographic mix. However, the ethnic composition of immigrants changed following the passage of the law. Specifically, the Hart -- Celler Act allowed increased numbers of people to migrate to the United States from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Prior to 1965, the demographics of immigration stood as mostly Europeans ; 68 percent of legal immigrants in the 1950s came from Europe and Canada. However, in the years 1971 -- 1991, immigrants from Hispanic and Latin American countries made 47.9 percent of immigrants ( with Mexico accounting for 23.7 percent ) and immigrants from Asia 35.2 percent. Not only did it change the ethnic makeup of immigration, but it also greatly increased the number of immigrants -- immigration constituted 11 percent of the total U.S. population growth between 1960 and 1970, growing to 33 percent from 1970 -- 80, and to 39 percent from 1980 -- 90. The elimination of the National Origins Formula and the introduction of numeric limits on immigration from the Western Hemisphere, along with the strong demand for immigrant workers by U.S. employers, led to rising numbers of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in the decades after 1965, especially in the Southwest. Policies in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that were designed to curtail migration across the Mexican - U.S. border led many unauthorized workers to settle permanently in the U.S. These demographic trends became a central part of anti-immigrant activism from the 1980s leading to greater border militarization, rising apprehension of migrants by the Border Patrol, and a focus in the media on the supposed criminality of immigrants. In January 2017, president Donald Trump 's Executive Order 13769 temporarily halting immigration from 7 majority - Muslim nations made reference to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 ; however, federal courts ruled the Executive Order violated the prohibitions on discrimination by nationality and religion in the 1965 Act. See also Immigration Act of 1924 History of laws concerning immigration and naturalization in the United States Luce -- Celler Act of 1946 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 National Origins Formula References ^ Jump up to : Sarah Starkweather. `` US immigration legislation online ''. University of Washington, Bothell Library. Retrieved January 1, 2012. ^ Jump up to : Jennifer Ludden. `` 1965 immigration law changed face of America ''. NPR. Jump up ^ `` U.S. Immigration Before 1965 ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 03. Jump up ^ `` The Geopolitical Origins of the U.S. Immigration Acts of 1965 ''. migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Whom we shall welcome ; report ''. archive.org. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 01. Jump up ^ Tracy J. Davis. `` Opening the Doors of Immigration : Sexual Orientation and Asylum in the United States ''. Human Rights Brief. 6 ( 3 ). Jump up ^ Keely, Charles B. ( Winter 1979 ). `` The Development of U.S. Immigration Policy Since 1965 ''. Journal Of International Affairs 33, no. 2. Jump up ^ `` Wages under Foreign Labor Certification ''. U.S. Department of Labor. Archived from the original on 2005 - 09 - 25. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 03. ^ Jump up to : Association of Centers for the Study of Congress. `` Immigration and Nationalization Act ''. The Great Society Congress. Association of Centers for the Study of Congress. Retrieved 6 April 2016. Jump up ^ Keith Poole. `` Senate Vote # 232 ( Sep 22, 1965 ) ''. Civic Impulse, LLC. Jump up ^ Keith Poole. `` House Vote # 177 ( Sep 30, 1965 ) ''. Civic Impulse, LLC. Jump up ^ Bill Ong Hing ( 2012 ), Defining America : Through Immigration Policy, Temple University Press, p. 95, ISBN 978 - 1 - 59213 - 848 - 7 Jump up ^ Tom Gjelten, Laura Knoy ( 2016 - 01 - 21 ). NPR 's Tom Gjelten on America 's Immigration Story ( Radio broadcast ). The Exchange. New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 07. Jump up ^ Gjelten, Tom ( 2015 - 08 - 12 ). `` Michael Feighan and LBJ ''. Archived from the original on 2016 - 05 - 06. Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Remarks at the Signing of the Immigration Bill, Liberty Island, New York ''. October 3, 1965. Retrieved January 1, 2012. Jump up ^ Johnson, L.B., ( 1965 ). President Lyndon B. Johnson 's Remarks at the Signing of the Immigration Bill. Liberty Island, New York October 3, 1965 transcript at lbjlibrary. Jump up ^ Ngai, Mae M. ( 2004 ). Impossible Subjects : Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princenton : Princeton University Press. pp. 266 -- 268. ISBN 978 - 0 - 691 - 16082 - 5. Jump up ^ Law, Anna O. ( Summer 2002 ). `` The Diversity Visa Lottery -- A Cycle of Unintended Consequences in United States Immigration Policy ''. Journal Of American Ethnic History 21, no. 4. Jump up ^ Lind, Michael ( 1995 ). The Next American Nation : The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution. New York : The Free Press. p. 133. ISBN 978 - 0 - 684 - 82503 - 8. Jump up ^ Massey, Douglas S. ( 2015 - 09 - 25 ). `` How a 1965 immigration reform created illegal immigration ''. The Washington Post. ISSN 0190 - 8286. Retrieved 2016 - 04 - 20. Jump up ^ Massey, Douglas S. ; Durand, Jorge ; Pren, Karen A. ( 2016 - 03 - 01 ). `` Why Border Enforcement Backfired ''. American Journal of Sociology. 121 ( 5 ) : 1557 -- 1600. ISSN 0002 - 9602. doi : 10.1086 / 684200. Jump up ^ Chavez, Leo ( 2013 ). The Latino threat : constructing immigrants, citizens, and the nation. Stanford University Press. Jump up ^ See Wikisource : Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States External links An Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes Text of Public Law 89 - 236 -- October 3, 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 in the South Asian American Digital Archive ( SAADA ) Immigration Policy in the United States ( 2006 ), Congressional Budget office. The Great Society Congress Immigration to the United States and related topics Relevant colonial era, United States and international laws Colonial era Nationality law in the American Colonies Plantation Act 1740 18th century Naturalization Act 1790 / 1795 / 1798 19th century Naturalization Law 1802 Civil Rights Act of 1866 14th Amendment ( 1868 ) Naturalization Act 1870 Page Act ( 1875 ) Immigration Act of 1882 Chinese Exclusion ( 1882 ) Scott Act ( 1888 ) Immigration Act of 1891 Geary Act ( 1892 ) 1900 -- 1949 Naturalization Act 1906 Gentlemen 's Agreement ( 1907 ) Immigration Act of 1907 Immigration Act 1917 ( Asian Barred Zone ) Emergency Quota Act ( 1921 ) Cable Act ( 1922 ) Immigration Act 1924 Tydings -- McDuffie Act ( 1934 ) Filipino Repatriation Act ( 1935 ) Nationality Act of 1940 Bracero Program ( 1942 -- 1964 ) Magnuson Act ( 1943 ) War Brides Act ( 1945 ) Luce -- Celler Act ( 1946 ) 1950 -- 1999 UN Refugee Convention ( 1951 ) Immigration and Nationality Act 1952 / 1965 Refugee Act ( 1980 ) Immigration Reform and Control Act ( 1986 ) American Homecoming Act ( 1989 ) Immigration Act 1990 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act ( IIRIRA ) ( 1996 ) Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act ( NACARA ) ( 1997 ) American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act ( ACWIA ) ( 1998 ) 21st century American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act ( AC21 ) ( 2000 ) Legal Immigration Family Equity Act ( LIFE Act ) ( 2000 ) H - 1B Visa Reform Act ( 2004 ) REAL ID Act ( 2005 ) Secure Fence Act ( 2006 ) Executive Order 13780 ( 2017 ) Visas and policies Visa policy Permanent residence Visa Waiver Program Temporary protected status Asylum Green Card Lottery US - VISIT Security Advisory Opinion E-Verify Section 287 ( g ) DACA Government organizations Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement U.S. Border Patrol U.S. Customs and Border Protection Immigration and Naturalization Service ( INS ) Board of Immigration Appeals Supreme Court cases United States v. Wong Kim Ark ( 1898 ) United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind ( 1923 ) United States v. Brignoni - Ponce ( 1975 ) Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting ( 2011 ) Related issues and events Economic impact Eugenics in the United States Guest worker program Human trafficking Human smuggling Coyotaje Immigration reform Immigration reduction Mexico -- United States barrier Labor shortage March for America Illegal immigrant population Reverse immigration 2006 protests Unaccompanied minors from Central America List of people deported from the United States Geography Mexico -- United States border Canada -- United States border United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints Proposed legislation DREAM Act ( 2001 -- 2010 ) H.R. 4437 ( 2005 ) McCain -- Kennedy ( 2005 ) SKIL ( 2006 ) Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act 2006 STRIVE Act ( 2007 ) Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act 2007 Uniting American Families Act ( 2000 -- 2013 ) Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 SAFE Act ( 2015 ) RAISE Act ( 2017 ) Immigration stations and points of entry Angel Island Castle Garden East Boston Ellis Island Sullivan 's Island Washington Avenue Operations `` Wetback '' ( 1954 ) `` Peter Pan '' ( 1960 -- 1962 ) `` Babylift '' ( 1975 ) `` Gatekeeper '' ( 1994 ) `` Endgame '' ( 2003 -- 2012 ) `` Front Line '' ( 2004 -- 2005 ) `` Streamline '' ( 2005 -- present ) `` Return to Sender '' ( 2006 -- 2007 ) `` Jump Start '' ( 2006 -- 2008 ) State legislation California DREAM Act ( 2006 -- 2010 ) Arizona SB 1070 ( 2010 ) Alabama HB 56 ( 2011 ) Non-governmental organizations Arizona Border Recon Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform National Immigration Forum Center for Community Change We Are America Alliance CASA of Maryland Mexica Movement Mexicans Without Borders Federation for American Immigration Reform Minuteman Project Minuteman Civil Defense Corps California Coalition for Immigration Reform Save Our State Center for Immigration Studies National Korean American Service & Education Consortium ( NAKASEC ) NumbersUSA Negative Population Growth Migration Policy Institute Utah Compact Center for Migration Studies of New York Lyndon B. Johnson 36th President of the United States ( 1963 -- 1969 ) 37th Vice President of the United States ( 1961 -- 1963 ) U.S. Senator from Texas ( 1949 -- 1961 ) U.S. Representative for TX - 10 ( 1937 -- 1949 ) Presidency 1963 inauguration 1965 inauguration Great Society Architectural Barriers Act Child Nutrition Act Civil Rights Act of 1964 Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Transportation Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 Head Start Program Job Corps Elementary and Secondary Education Act Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Fair Housing Act of 1968 Food Stamp Act of 1964 Glassboro Summit Gun Control Act of 1968 Higher Education Act of 1965 Upward Bound TRIO Teacher Corps Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 Johnson Doctrine Dominican Republic occupation Medicare Medicaid Meritorious Service Medal National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities Non-Discrimination in Federal contracts Executive Order 11375 Older Americans Act Operation CHAOS Outer Space Treaty Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 Vietnam War Gulf of Tonkin Resolution `` Credibility gap '' VISTA Voting Rights Act of 1965 War on Poverty White House Conference on Civil Rights White House preservation State of the Union Address, 1966 1968 Cabinet Judicial appointments Supreme Court controversies Life Early years and career Operation Texas Texas Broadcasting Company Johnson Amendment Bashir Ahmad Legacy Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum Lyndon B. 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Question: what was the intent of the immigration act of 1965
Answer: maintained the per-country limits