[165]
The 47th Congress spent a great deal of time on immigration, and at times was in accord with Arthur.[166] In July 1882 Congress easily passed a bill regulating steamships that carried immigrants to the United States.[166] To their surprise, Arthur vetoed it and requested revisions, which they made and Arthur then approved.[166] He also signed in August of that year the Immigration Act of 1882, which levied a 50-cent tax on immigrants to the United States, and excluded from entry the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled, criminals, or any other person potentially dependent upon public assistance.[167]
A more contentious debate materialized over the status of Chinese immigrants; in January 1868, the Senate had ratified the Burlingame Treaty with China, allowing an unrestricted flow of Chinese into the country. As the economy soured after the Panic of 1873, Chinese immigrants were blamed for depressing workmen's wages; in reaction Congress in 1879 attempted to abrogate the 1868 treaty by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act, but President Hayes vetoed it.