Immigration from China to the United States, and consequently the establishment of Chinese American culture, began in the 19th century. While there were small waves of immigration earlier in the century, the most significant influx of Chinese immigrants occurred during the California Gold Rush. Subsequently, many immigrants chose to stay and were employed for the construction of the transcontinental railroad. However, these Chinese immigrants faced severe racial discrimination in the United States, particularly from European American communities. Confronting violence, they sought refuge with their own company, creating neighborhoods that eventually evolved into what are now known as “Chinatowns.”

Anti-Chinese sentiment proliferated under the rhetoric that Chinese immigrants were “stealing” wages and jobs that European Americans believed were rightfully theirs. This sentiment culminated in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States for 10 years. The act was extended in 1892 by the Geary Act, requiring anyone of Chinese heritage to carry identification papers. It was further extended in 1902 and ultimately made permanent in 1904.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was not repealed until 1943 with the Magnuson Act, which lifted the ban on immigration and, for the first time, provided a path to citizenship for Chinese people already residing in the United States.