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In the late 1800s, when a movement developed to stop the influx of Chinese laborers into the United States, Congress responded by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Chinese Exclusion Act, and the ensuing legislation that lengthened and strengthened its provisions, legitimated the exclusion of a particular group from the United States based on race and ethnicity. On May 6, 1882, President Chester Arthur signed the bill into law.