Geary Act

Geary Act

Long title	An Act to prohibit the coming of Chinese persons into the United States.
Nicknames	Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892
Enacted by	the 52nd United States Congress
Effective	May 5, 1892
Citations
Public law	52-60
Statutes at Large	27 Stat. 25
Codification
Acts repealed	December 17, 1943
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 6185 by Thomas J. Geary (D–CA) on February 18, 1892 Committee consideration by House Foreign Affairs Passed the House on April 4, 1892 (179-43) Passed the Senate on April 25, 1892 (43-14) Reported by the joint conference committee on May 2, 1892; agreed to by the Senate on May 3, 1892 (30-15) and by the House on May 4, 1892 (186-27) Signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on May 5, 1892

The Geary Act was a United States law that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 by adding onerous new requirements. It was written by California Representative Thomas J. Geary and was passed by Congress on May 5, 1892.

The law required all Chinese residents of the United States to carry a resident permit, a sort of internal passport. Failure to carry the permit at all times was punishable by deportation or a year of hard labor. In addition, Chinese were not allowed to bear witness in court, and could not receive bail in habeas corpus proceedings.

The Geary Act was challenged in the courts but was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in an opinion by Justice Horace Gray, Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 13 S. Ct. 1016. 37 L.Ed. 905 (1893), Justices David Josiah Brewer, Stephen J. Field, and Chief Justice Melville Fuller dissenting.

The Chinese Exclusion Acts remained in force until partly modified by the Magnuson Act in 1943, which slightly opened up Chinese immigration and permitted naturalization.