Senator James Murray and Immigration Reform

Over the course of the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States' immigration policies grew increasingly strict.  This trend culminated in the Immigration Act of 1924, which significantly reduced immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe and halted legal immigration from East and Southeast Asia.

James Murray, who was a Canadian immigrant, sought to liberalize U.S. immigration policy in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1952, Senator Pat McCarran and Congressman Francis Walter introduced a bill that consisted of broad reforms to the immigration code. As chairman of the Senate's Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Senator Murray would play an important role in shaping that debate.

Portrait of James Murray.