The Page Act of 1875 (Sect. 141,…

The Page Act of 1875 (Sect. 141, 18 Stat. 477, 1873-March 1875) is the first federal immigration law and prohibited the entry of immigrants considered "undesirable."

The law classifies as "undesirable" any individual from Asia who is coming to America to be a contract laborer, any Asian woman who would engage in prostitution, and all people considered to be convicts in their own country.

The law is named after its sponsor, Representative Horace F. Page, a Republican who introduces it to "end the danger of cheap Chinese labor and immoral Chinese women". (George Anthony Peffer, “Forbidden Families: Emigration Experiences of Chinese Women Under the Page Law, 1875-1882,” Journal of American Ethnic History 6.1 (Fall 1986): 28-46. p.28.)

The Page Act is supposed to strengthen the ban against “coolie” laborers, by imposing a fine of up to two thousand dollars and maximum jail sentence of one year upon anyone who tries to bring a person from China, Japan, or any oriental country to the United States “without their free and voluntary consent, for the purpose of holding them to a term of service”. (An Act Supplementary to the Acts in Relation to Immigration (Page Law) sect. 141, 18 Stat. 477 (1873-March 1875).)

However, these provisions, as well as those regarding convicts “had little effect at the time”. (Eithne Luibheid, Entry Denied: Controlling Sexuality at the Border (University of Minnesota Press, 2002) 31.)

On the other hand, the bar on female Asian immigrants will be heavily enforced and will prove to be a barrier for all Asian women trying to immigrate, especially Chinese.