The Whites-Only Immigration Regime.

This essay examines the development and persistence of a Whites-only immigration regime in the United States from the post–Civil War era through the mid-20th century and beyond. It details how federal laws, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, and the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), alongside Supreme Court rulings like Chae Chan Ping v. United States (1889) and Fong Yue Ting v. United States (1893), established and reinforced racialized immigration controls that excluded, criminalized, and deported non-White immigrants—particularly Asians, Black migrants, and Mexicans—while creating exceptions and pathways favoring European and Canadian immigrants. Although the 1965 Immigration Reform Amendment repealed explicit racial quotas, it maintained structural barriers that continued to privilege White immigrants and criminalize non-White migration, especially unauthorized border crossings from Mexico. The essay argues that these enduring legal and enforcement frameworks constitute a revised but unabolished Whites-only immigration regime that shapes contemporary U.S. immigration policy and enforcement.