View source for Emergency Quota Act

{{short description|Immigration-related US Congress Act of 1921}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
__NOTOC__
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = Emergency Quota Act
| othershorttitles = {{unbulleted list|Emergency Immigration Act of 1921|Immigration Restriction Act of 1921|Johnson Quota Act}}
| longtitle = An Act to limit the immigration of migrants into the United States.<ref name="UAWB.edu">{{cite web|title=1921 Emergency Quota Law (An Act to regulate the immigration of aliens to, and the residence of aliens in, the United States.)|url=http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/1921_emergency_quota_law.html|website=US immigration legislation online|access-date=30 January 2015|archive-date=22 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822095651/http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/1921_emergency_quota_law.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| colloquialacronym = 
| nickname = Per Centum Limit Act
| enacted by = 67th
| effective date = May 19, 1921
| public law url = 
| cite public law = {{USPL|67|5}}
| cite statutes at large = {{USStat|42|5}}
| acts amended = 
| acts repealed = 
| title amended = <!--US code titles changed-->
| sections created = <!--{{USC}} can be used-->
| sections amended = 
| leghisturl = 
| introducedin = House
| introducedbill = {{USbill|67|H.R.|4075}}
| introducedby = [[Albert Johnson (congressman)|Albert Johnson]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Washington (state)|WA]])
| introduceddate = 
| committees = 
| passedbody1 = House
| passeddate1 = April 22, 1921
| passedvote1 = passed voice vote
| passedbody2 = Senate
| passedas2 = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation -->
| passeddate2 = May 3, 1921
| passedvote2 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/67-1/s21 90-2]
| conferencedate = May 5, 1921
| passedbody3 = House
| passeddate3 = May 13, 1921
| passedvote3 = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/67-1/h21 285-41]
| agreedbody3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreeddate3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedvote3 = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedbody4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreeddate4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreedvote4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4 = Senate
| passeddate4 = May 13, 1921
| passedvote4 = agreed
| signedpresident = [[Warren G. Harding]]
| signeddate = May 19, 1921
| unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| unsigneddate = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| vetoeddate = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| amendments = 
| SCOTUS cases = 
}}
The '''Emergency Quota Act''', also known as the '''Emergency Immigration Act of 1921''', the '''Immigration Restriction Act of 1921''', the '''Per Centum Law''', and the '''Johnson Quota Act''' (ch. 8, {{USStat|42|5}} of May 19, 1921), was formulated mainly in response to the large influx of [[Southern Europe|Southern]] and [[Eastern Europe]]ans and restricted their immigration to the United States. Although intended as temporary legislation, it "proved, in the long run, the most important turning-point in American immigration policy"<ref>John Higham, ''Strangers in the Land'' (1963), 311</ref> because it added two new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits, which came to be known as the [[National Origins Formula]].

The Emergency Quota Act restricted the number of immigrants admitted from any country annually to 3% of the number of residents from that country living in the United States as of the [[1910 United States census|1910 Census]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Divine |first1=Robert A. |title=America, Past and Present |date=2002 |publisher=Longman |location=New York |page=752 |edition=8th |isbn=978-0-321-08403-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJn51M6z7X0C&q=quota%20system |access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref> That meant that people from [[Northern Europe|Northern]] and [[Western Europe]] had a higher quota and were more likely to be admitted to the US than those from [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] or [[Southern Europe]] or from non-European countries.

However, professionals were to be admitted without regard to their country of origin. Also, no limits were set on immigration from Canada, [[Newfoundland]], Cuba, Mexico, or the countries of Central America and South America or "adjacent islands." The act did not apply to countries with bilateral agreements with the US or to Asian countries listed in the [[Immigration Act of 1917]], known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act.<ref name=" UAWB.edu" />

The [[Immigration Act of 1924]] reduced the quota to 2% of countries' representation in the [[1890 United States census|1890 census]], when a fairly small percentage of the population was from the regions some regarded as less than desirable. To execute the new quota, a visa system was implemented in 1924.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/closing-the-door-on-immigration.htm|title=Closing the Door on Immigration (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-10-31}}</ref> It mandated non-citizens seeking to enter the US to obtain and present a visa obtained from a US embassy or consulate before arriving in the US.<ref name=":0" /> The visa regulations were later substantially revised by the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952]] and ultimately replaced by the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]]. Non-citizens of the U.S. who are citizens or nationals of 40 countries are currently exempted from a visa requirement under the [[Visa Waiver Program]].

Immigration inspectors differently handle visa packets depending on whether they are non-immigrant (visitor) or immigrant (permanent admission).<ref name=":0" /> Under the original, unmodified law, non-immigrant visas were kept at the ports of entry and were later destroyed, but immigrant visas were sent to the Central Office, in [[Washington, DC]], for processing and filing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/visa-files-july-1-1924-march-31-1944|title=Visa Files, July 1, 1924 - March 31, 1944|date=2016-02-09|website=USCIS|language=en|access-date=2019-10-31}}</ref>

Based on the new formula, the number of new immigrants admitted fell from 805,228 in 1920 to 309,556 in 1921–22.<ref name=murray7>Robert K. Murray, ''The 103rd Ballot: Democrats and the Disaster in Madison Square Garden'' (NY: Harper & Row, 1976), 7</ref> The average annual inflow of immigrants prior to 1921 was 175,983 from Northern and Western Europe and 685,531 from other countries, mainly Southern and Eastern Europe.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} In 1921, there was a drastic reduction in immigration levels from other countries, principally Southern and Eastern Europe.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

The act, sponsored by US Representative [[Albert Johnson (congressman)|Albert Johnson]] (R-[[Washington (state)|Washington]]),<ref>{{cite web |publisher=American Catholic History Classroom |url=http://archives.lib.cua.edu/education/immigration/1921-quota.cfm |title=1921 Emergency Quota Act |access-date=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121091813/http://archives.lib.cua.edu/education/immigration/1921-quota.cfm |archive-date=2012-01-21 }}</ref> was passed without a recorded vote in the [[US House of Representatives]] and by a vote of 90-2-4 in the [[US Senate]].<ref name=govtrack>{{cite web|title=Senate Vote #21 (May 3, 1921)|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s67_1-21&sort=vote|work=govtrack.us|access-date=20 May 2011}}</ref>

The act was revised by the [[Immigration Act of 1924]].

The use of the National Origins Formula continued until it was replaced by the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]], which introduced a system of preferences, based on immigrants' skills and family relationships with US citizens or US residents.

== Quotas by country under successive laws ==
Listed below are historical quotas on immigration from the [[Eastern Hemisphere]], by country, as applied in given fiscal years ending June 30, calculated according to successive immigration laws and revisions from the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 to the final quota year of 1965. The 1922 and 1925 systems based on dated census records of the foreign-born population were intended as temporary measures, and were replaced by the 1924 Act's [[National Origins Formula]] based on the [[1920 United States census|1920 Census]] of the total U.S. population, effective July 1, 1929.<ref name="statabstract1922">{{cite journal|date=July 1923|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1922.|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1923/compendia/statab/45ed/1922-03.pdf|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce|pages=100–101|edition=45th|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329121443/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1923/compendia/statab/45ed/1922-03.pdf|archive-date=March 29, 2021|access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref><ref name="statabstract1924">{{cite journal|date=July 1925|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1924.|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1925/compendia/statab/47ed/1924-02.pdf|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce|page=83|edition=47th|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328004741/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1925/compendia/statab/47ed/1924-02.pdf|archive-date=March 28, 2021|access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref><ref name="statabstract1930">{{cite journal|date=July 1930|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1930.|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1930/compendia/statab/52ed/1930-04.pdf|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce|pages=102–105|edition=52nd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326085609/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1930/compendia/statab/52ed/1930-04.pdf|archive-date=March 26, 2021|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref><ref name="statabstract1931">{{cite journal|date=August 1931|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1931.|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1931/compendia/statab/53ed/1931-03.pdf|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce|pages=103–107|edition=53rd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329144712/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1931/compendia/statab/53ed/1931-03.pdf|archive-date=March 29, 2021|access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref><ref name="statabstract1966">{{cite journal|date=July 1966|title=Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1966.|journal=Statistical Abstract of the United States ...: Finance, Coinage, Commerce, Immigration, Shipping, the Postal Service, Population, Railroads, Agriculture, Coal and Iron|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1966/compendia/statab/87ed/1966-02.pdf|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=U.S. Bureau of the Census|pages=89–93|lccn=04-018089|issn=0081-4741|oclc=781377180|edition=87th|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328113257/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1966/compendia/statab/87ed/1966-02.pdf|archive-date=March 28, 2021|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref><ref name="ABA1924">{{cite journal|date=July 1924|journal=American Bar Association Journal|volume=10|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25709038|publisher=American Bar Association|pages=490–492|last=Beaman|first=Middleton|issue=7|title=Current Legislation: The Immigration Act of 1924.|jstor=25709038|access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Annual [[National Origins Formula|National Quota]]
!colspan="2"|Act of 1921||colspan="4"|[[Immigration Act of 1924|Act of 1924]]||colspan="2"|[[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952|Act of 1952]]
|-
!1922{{efn|Quota per country limited to 3% of the number of foreign-born persons of that nationality residing in the U.S. in the 1910 census (FY 1922–1924)}}
!%
!1925{{efn|Quota per country limited to 2% of the number of foreign-born persons of that nationality residing in the U.S. in the 1890 census (FY 1925–1929)}}
!%
!1930{{efn|Quota per nationality limited to a percentage share of 150,000 in a ratio proportional to the number of U.S. inhabitants of that national origin as a share of all U.S. inhabitants in the 1920 census (FY 1930–1952)}}
!%
!1965{{efn|Quota per nationality limited to one-sixth of 1% of the number of U.S. inhabitants of that national origin in the 1920 census (FY 1953–1965)}}
!%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Albania|1920}}
| 288
| 0.08%
| 100
| 0.06%
| 100
| 0.07%
| 100
| 0.06%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Armenia}}
| 230
| 0.06%
| 124
| 0.08%
| 100
| 0.07%
| 100
| 0.06%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Austria}} 
| 7,451
| 2.08%
| 785
| 0.48%
| 1,413
| 0.92%
| 1,405
| 0.89%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Belgium}}
| 1,563
| 0.44%
| 512
| 0.31%
| 1,304
| 0.85%
| 1,297
| 0.82%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Bulgaria}}
| 302
| 0.08%
| 100
| 0.06%
| 100
| 0.07%
| 100
| 0.06%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Czechoslovakia}}
| 14,357
| 4.01%
| 3,073
| 1.87%
| 2,874
| 1.87%
| 2,859
| 1.80%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Danzig}}
| 301
| 0.08%
| 228
| 0.14%
| 100
| 0.07%
|  
| 
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Denmark}} 
| 5,619
| 1.57%
| 2,789
| 1.69%
| 1,181
| 0.77%
| 1,175
| 0.74%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Estonia}}
| 1,348
| 0.38%
| 124
| 0.08%
| 116
| 0.08%
| 115
| 0.07%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Finland}}
| 3,921
| 1.10%
| 471
| 0.29%
| 569
| 0.37%
| 566
| 0.36%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Fiume}}
| 71
| 0.02%
|  
|  
|  
|  
| 
|  
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|France|1848b}}
| 5,729
| 1.60%
| 3,954
| 2.40%
| 3,086
| 2.01%
| 3,069
| 1.94%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Germany|1919}} 
| 67,607
| 18.90%
| 51,227
| 31.11%
| 25,957
| 16.89%
| 25,814
| 16.28%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Greece|old}}
| 3,294
| 0.92%
| 100
| 0.06%
| 307
| 0.20%
| 308
| 0.19%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Hungary|1920}}
| 5,638
| 1.58%
| 473
| 0.29%
| 869
| 0.57%
| 865
| 0.55%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Iceland|1918}}
| 75
| 0.02% 
| 100
| 0.06%
| 100
| 0.07%
| 100
| 0.06%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Ireland}} 
| {{efn|name=uk|From 1921 to 1924, quota for [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] encompassed all of Ireland; after 1925, only [[Northern Ireland]], with a separate quota created for the [[Irish Free State]]}}
|
| 28,567
| 17.35%
| 17,853
| 11.61%
| 17,756
| 11.20%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Italy|1861}}
| 42,057
| 11.75%
| 3,854
| 2.34%
| 5,802
| 3.77%
| 5,666
| 3.57%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Latvia}} 
| 1,540
| 0.43%
| 142
| 0.09% 
| 236
| 0.15%
| 235
| 0.15%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Lithuania}} 
| 2,460
| 0.69%
| 344
| 0.21% 
| 386
| 0.25%
| 384
| 0.24%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Luxembourg}}
| 92
| 0.03%
| 100
| 0.06%
| 100
| 0.07%
| 100
| 0.06%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Netherlands}}
| 3,607
| 1.01%
| 1,648
| 1.00%
| 3,153
| 2.05%
| 3,136
| 1.98% 
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Norway}} 
| 12,202
| 3.41%
| 6,453
| 3.92% 
| 2,377
| 1.55%
| 2,364
| 1.49%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Poland}} 
| 31,146
| 8.70%
| 5,982
| 3.63% 
| 6,524
| 4.24%
| 6,488
| 4.09%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Portugal}} 
| 2,465
| 0.69%
| 503
| 0.31% 
| 440
| 0.29%
| 438
| 0.28%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Romania}} 
| 7,419
| 2.07%
| 603
| 0.37% 
| 295
| 0.19%
| 289
| 0.18%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Russia|1954}} / {{flag|Soviet Union|1936}} {{efn|[[U.S.S.R.]] excluding regions falling under the [[Asiatic Barred Zone]] while in effect}} 
| 24,405
| 6.82%
| 2,248
| 1.37% 
| 2,784
| 1.81%
| 2,697
| 1.70%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Spain}} 
| 912
| 0.25%
| 131
| 0.08% 
| 252
| 0.16%
| 250
| 0.16%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Sweden}} 
| 20,042
| 5.60%
| 9,561
| 5.81% 
| 3,314
| 2.16%
| 3,295
| 2.08%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Switzerland}} 
| 3,752
| 1.05%
| 2,081
| 1.26% 
| 1,707
| 1.11%
| 1,698
| 1.07%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Turkey}} 
| 2,388
| 0.67%
| 100
| 0.06% 
| 226
| 0.15%
| 225
| 0.14%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|United Kingdom}} {{efn|name=uk}} 
| 77,342
| 21.62%
| 34,007 
| 20.65% 
| 65,721
| 42.76%
| 65,361
| 41.22%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia|name=Yugoslavia}} 
| 6,426
| 1.80%
| 671
| 0.41% 
| 845
| 0.55%
| 942
| 0.59%
|-
| align="left"|{{flag|Australia}} and {{flag|New Zealand}} 
| 359
| 0.10%
| 221
| 0.13% 
| 200
| 0.13%
| 700
| 0.44%
|-
| align="left"|Total from [[Europe]]
| 356,135
| 99.53%
| 161,546
| 98.10%
| 150,591
| 97.97%
| 149,697
| 94.41%
|-
| align="left"|Total from [[Asia]] 
| 1,066
| 0.30%
| 1,300
| 0.79% 
| 1,323
| 0.86%
| 3,690
| 2.33%
|-
| align="left"|Total from [[Africa]] 
| 122
| 0.03%
| 1,200
| 0.73% 
| 1,200
| 0.78%
| 4,274
| 2.70%
|-
| align="left"|'''Total from all Countries'''
| '''357,803'''
| '''100%'''
| '''164,667'''
| '''100%'''
| '''153,714'''
| '''100%'''
| '''158,561'''
| '''100%'''
|-
|}
{{notelist}}

== See also ==
* [[Dillingham Commission]]
* [[List of United States immigration legislation]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Allerfeldt, Kristofer. "‘And We Got Here First’: Albert Johnson, National Origins and Self-Interest in the Immigration Debate of the 1920s." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 45.1 (2010): 7–26.
* Miller, Nathan.  ''New World Coming.'' Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2003
* Higham, John. ''Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism''. 2nd ed. New York: Atheneum, 1963.  (First edition published by Rutgers University Press in 1955)
* Jerry Elman, "The 'Holocaust' is Not the Right Focus!" Blog posted April 19, 2023. Accessed May 5, 2023 [https://jerry-elman.com/?p=4443]

==External links==
* [http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/42%20stat%205.pdf The act] <sup>Dead Link</sup>{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716231719/http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/42%20stat%205.pdf |date=2015-07-16 }} at the [http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/USimmigrationlegislation.html U.S. Immigration Legislation Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211041114/http://library.uwb.edu/guides/USimmigration/USimmigrationlegislation.html |date=2015-02-11 }} hosted by the [[University of Washington Bothell]] Library

{{Warren G. Harding}}
{{Immigration to the United States}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:History of immigration to the United States]]
[[Category:1921 in American law]]
[[Category:United States federal immigration and nationality legislation|Federal legislation]]
[[Category:67th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Quotas]]