Today, the president and Congress
promote an America First agenda, often with cues for prejudice and bigotry. The graffiti in the photo took place in New York City just a month ago.
In 2012, the Republican-controlled House of
Representatives passed a remarkable resolution that apologized for the Chinese Exclusion
Act. The resolution passed with strong bi-partisan support. That was only six
years ago. This is a short but powerful resolution.
EXPRESSING REGRET FOR PASSAGE OF LAWS
ADVERSELY AFFECTING THE CHINESE IN THE
UNITED STATES
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I
move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 683) expressing
the regret of the House of Representatives for the passage of laws that
adversely affected the Chinese in the United States, including the Chinese Exclusion
Act.
H. Res. 683
Whereas many Chinese came to the
United States in the 19th and 20th centuries, as did people from other
countries, in search of the opportunity to create a better life;
Whereas the United States ratified
the Burlingame Treaty on October 19, 1868, which permitted the free movement of
the Chinese people to, from, and within the United States and made China a
``most favored nation'';
Whereas in 1878, the House of Representatives
passed a resolution requesting that President Rutherford B. Hayes renegotiate
the Burlingame Treaty so Congress could limit Chinese immigration to the United
States;
Whereas, on February 22, 1879, the
House of Representatives passed the Fifteen Passenger Bill, which only
permitted 15 Chinese passengers on any ship coming to the United States;
Whereas, on March 1, 1879, President
Hayes vetoed the Fifteen Passenger Bill as being incompatible with the Burlingame
Treaty;
Whereas, on May 9, 1881, the United
States ratified the Angell Treaty, which allowed the United States to suspend, but
not prohibit, immigration of Chinese laborers, declared that ``Chinese laborers
who are now in the United States shall be allowed to go and come of their own
free will,'' and reaffirmed that Chinese persons possessed ``all the rights,
privileges, immunities, and exemptions which are accorded to the citizens and
subjects of the most favored nation'';
Whereas the House of Representatives
passed legislation that adversely affected Chinese persons in the United States
and limited their civil rights, including--
(1) on March 23, 1882, the first Chinese
Exclusion bill, which excluded for 20 years skilled and unskilled Chinese laborers
and expressly denied Chinese persons alone the right to be naturalized as
American citizens, and which was opposed by President Chester A. Arthur as
incompatible with the terms and spirit of the Angell Treaty;
(2) on April 17, 1882, intending to
address President Arthur’s concerns, the House passed a new Chinese Exclusion bill,
which prohibited Chinese workers from entering the United States for 10 years
instead of 20, required certain Chinese laborers already legally present in the
United States who later wished to reenter the United States to obtain ``certificates
of return,'' and prohibited courts from naturalizing Chinese individuals;
(3) on May 3, 1884, an expansion of
the Chinese Exclusion Act, which applied it to all persons of Chinese descent, ``whether
subjects of China or any other foreign power'';
(4) on September 3, 1888, the Scott
Act, which prohibited legal Chinese laborers from reentering the United States
and cancelled all previously issued ``certificates of return,'' and which was later
determined by the Supreme Court to have abrogated the Angell Treaty; and
(5) on April 4, 1892, the Geary Act,
which reauthorized the Chinese Exclusion Act for another ten years, denied
Chinese immigrants the right to be released on bail upon application for a writ
of habeas corpus, and contrary to customary legal standards regarding the
presumption of innocence, authorized the deportation of Chinese persons who
could not produce a certificate of residence unless they could establish residence
through the testimony of ``at least one credible white witness'';
Whereas in the 1894 Gresham-Yang
Treaty, the Chinese government consented to a prohibition of Chinese
immigration and the enforcement of the Geary Act in exchange for readmission to
the United States of Chinese persons who were United States residents;
Whereas in 1898, the United States
annexed Hawaii, took control of the Philippines, and excluded only the
residents of Chinese ancestry of these territories from entering the United
States mainland;
Whereas, on April 29, 1902, as the
Geary Act was expiring, Congress indefinitely extended all laws regulating and restricting
Chinese immigration and residence, to the extent consistent with Treaty
commitments;
Whereas in 1904, after the Chinese
government withdrew from the Gresham-Yang Treaty, Congress permanently
extended, ``without modification, limitation, or condition,'' the prohibition
on Chinese naturalization and immigration;
Whereas these Federal statutes
enshrined in law the exclusion of the Chinese from the democratic process and
the promise of American freedom;
Whereas in an attempt to undermine
the American-Chinese alliance during World War II, enemy forces used the
Chinese exclusion legislation passed in Congress as evidence of anti-Chinese
attitudes in the United States;
Whereas in 1943, in furtherance of
American war objectives, at the urging of President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Congress repealed previously enacted legislation and permitted Chinese persons
to become United States citizens;
Whereas Chinese-Americans
continue to play a significant role in the success of the United States; and Whereas the United States was founded on
the principle that all persons are created equal: Now, therefore, be it Resolved,
SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
Congressional Record Volume
158, Number 92 (Monday, June 18, 2012)] [House] [Pages H3715-H3719]
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