Magnuson Act

For the United States federal law dealing with consumer warranties, see Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act.

The Magnuson Act also known as the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943 was immigration legislation proposed by U.S. Representative (later Senator) Warren G. Magnuson of Washington and signed into law on December 17, 1943 in the United States. It allowed Chinese immigration for the first time since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and permitted some Chinese immigrants already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens. This marked the first time since the Naturalization Act of 1790 that any Asians were permitted to be naturalized. However, the Magnuson Act provided for the continuation of the ban against the ownership of property and businesses by ethnic Chinese. In many states, Chinese Americans (including US citizens) were denied property-ownership rights by de facto until the Magnuson Act itself was fully repealed in 1965.^[1]

The Magnuson Act was passed on Dec. 17, 1943, the year China became an official allied nation to the United States in World War II. Although considered a positive development by many, it was particularly restrictive against Chinese immigrants, limiting them to an annual quota of 105 new entry visas. The quota was supposedly determined by the Immigration Act of 1924, which set immigration from qualifying countries at 2% of the number of people who were already living in the United States in 1890 of that nationality. However, the arrived-at number of 105 per annum granted to the Chinese was disproportionately low. (The quota should have been 2,150 per annum, as official census figures place the population of ethnic Chinese living in the USA in 1890 at 107,488 persons.^[2]) Regardless of method of calculation, the number of Chinese immigrants allowed into the USA was disproprtionately low in ratio to the sanctioned immigration of other nationalities and ethnicities.^[3] Chinese immigration later increased with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965.^[4]

The full text of the Magnuson Act can be found here: http://library.uwb.edu/guides/USimmigration/57%20stat%20600.pdf

Maritime laws also known as "Magnuson Act"

The "Magnuson Act of 1950" (Chap. 656, 64 Stat. 427) amended the Espionage Act of 1917 (Chap. 30, Title II, 40 Stat. 220) pertaining to the movement and inspection of foreign vessels in U.S. waters. Provisions for port security were thereupon added by Executive Order (No. 10173, 15 Fed. Reg. 7005 (Oct. 18, 1950)).^[5]

16 U.S.C. Sec. 1801 is also referred to as "The Magnuson Act". It was enacted in 1976, and is a Congressional response to depleted fish populations in the United States. The Act established regional Councils that were to develop Fishery Management Plans.

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ http://www.udel.edu/readhistory/resources/2005_2006/summer_06/hsu.pdf
3. ^ Chang, Iris (2003). The Chinese in America. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670031232. 
4. ^ The Chinese-American Experience: An Introduction
5. ^ Review of U.S. Ocean and Coastal Law