Why Was Jewish Immigration to the U.S. Restricted?
The United States has never restricted Jewish immigration to the United States on the basis of a person's Jewish identity. However, there have been immigration laws containing per-country limits that many see as an attempt to favor non-Jewish immigrants. The U.S. was slow to take Jewish refugees during World War II.
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Jewish Population of the U.S.
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The U.S. has the largest Jewish population in the world. 6.5 million Jewish people live in the U.S. According to Ancestry.com, 1881-1924 was the era of the largest Jewish migration to the U.S. 2 million Jewish people immigrated during that time.
Immigration Act of 1924
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This law created new restrictions in U.S. immigration law. It created per-country limits. Legal immigration was limited for each country to two percent of the number of people from the same country living in the U.S. in 1890. The intent behind the law was to check the impulse of natural migration, which was then from Southern and Eastern European countries, and to favor migrants from Northern Europe.
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Jewish Migration Reduced after the 1924 Act
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In the years after 1924, Jewish Migration was indeed reduced, even for refugees during the Second World War. Only 350,000 Jewish immigrants came to the U.S. in the era from 1924 to 1960.
The U.S. Slow to be a Refuge during Holocaust Era
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In 1939, 900 Jewish Refugees sailed from Hamburg, Germany, on the S.S. St. Louis. President Franklin Roosevelt refused to allow them to land in the United States. The ship had to return to Europe.
Many of the Jews on that ship ended up at the mercy of Hitler's Germany. According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum web site, the U.S. did not organize to admit Jewish refugees until 1944.
Documentary Requirements
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Documentary requirements for prospective Jewish immigrants were often oppressive and the documents difficult to obtain. This was an indirect way of making migration difficult or impossible. Letters from banks or doctors or the German police were hard to obtain especially with restrictions that Germany imposed. The U.S. required affidavits from sponsors in the U.S. The mail between the U.S. and Germany was slow, making communication with required sponsors difficult.
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