Immigration Act 1924

Legislation that limited the number of immigrants into the USA from outside the Western hemisphere to around 150,000 per year. The act took effect in 1929.

Congress began setting immigration quotas in 1921. Under the Immigration Act of 1924, the number of immigrants allowed from different countries was based on the percentages of these nationalities already living in the USA in 1920. These quotas reduced immigration from southeastern Europe and favoured countries of northwestern Europe, especially the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany.

The quota system was part of the US immigration policy until 1968.