Control of Immigration by the Federal Government

By the above decision the States were left without the means, except by taxing their own citizens, of providing suitable inspection of immigrants or of caring for the destitute among those admitted.

The only alternative was the recommendation of the Supreme Court that Congress assume control of immigration legislation, and New York representatives in Congress immediately endeavored to secure the passage of a general immigration law.

The above quoted case was decided by the Supreme Court, March 20, 1876, and on July 6 following, Senator Conkling and Representative Cox of New York introduced bills for the national regulation of immigration.

No legislation was enacted, however, until the year 1882.

Jeremiah W. Jenks, Ph.D., LL.D. and W. Jett Lauck, A.B., "Contorl by the Federal Government" In The Immigration Problem, New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1912, P. 304-305.