Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act)

Wednesday, January 02, 1924

Signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge, this Act enacted a permanent quota system based on the 1921 Emergency Quota Act, setting quotas at two percent of populations counted in the 1890 census and barring all “aliens ineligible for citizenship”. Immigration numbers drastically declined, especially from targeted areas of Eastern and Southern Europe, including many refugees fleeing the spread of fascism.