The McCarran-Walter Bill

The McCarran-Walter bill proposed to eliminate immigration restrictions based on race, but maintained a quota system based on 1920 census figures. This was intended to limit the change in the United States' ethnic composition due to immigration. The bill created exceptions for highly skilled immigrants and relatives of U.S. citizens and allowed for the admission of refugees outside the quota system. The most contentious aspects of the bill related to the restictive quotas for Eastern Europeans and Asians, and the provisions which made it easier to deny entry or deport individuals with ties to the Communist Party. Below is a critique of the McCarran-Walter bill from Senator Murray's file.