Immigration Act of 1917 (Barred Zone Act)

Monday, January 01, 1917

Although initially vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, this Act created a “barred zone” extending from the Middle East to Southeast Asia that barred all persons coming from affected regions from entering the United States. This Act also implemented literacy tests intended to reduce European immigration (with exemptions for refugees), as well as clarified funding and procedures to aid enforcement of immigration laws and expand the excludable classes of immigrants.