The Immigration Act of 1882 was the first federal immigration law in America, passed on August 3, 1882, by the Forty-seventh United States Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur. The act restricted certain classes of people from immigrating into America, including criminals, the insane, or “any person unable to take care of him or herself.” The act also levied a head tax on non-U.S. citizens arriving in American ports.