Explore histories of migration, citizenship and belonging in Germany and the U.S. over the centuries.
1923
South Asians Barred From U.S. Citizenship
In a landmark 1923 Supreme Court case, the court ruled that Bhagat Singh Thind, an Indian immigrant and U.S. army veteran, was not “white” and, therefore, could not become a U.S. citizen. According to the Naturalization Act of 1790, only “free white” immigrants were eligible for naturalization. Thind had argued that South Asians were in fact classified as part of the “Caucasian race” and were therefore white. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that whiteness was a scientific fact of Caucasian ancestry, it ruled that whiteness was a matter of “common sense.” The ruling led to more than 50 denaturalization proceedings of previously naturalized South Asians.
Is a high caste Hindu of full Indian blood, born at Amrit Sar, Punjab, India, a white person within the meaning of section 2169, Revised Statutes?
- Justice Sutherland
United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind 261 U.S. 204 (1923)
South Asian American Digital Archive
