Immigration law preserves national origins quotas while ending racial naturalization bars

Congress enacts the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, also known as the McCarran-Walter Act, over President Harry Truman's veto. The law removes explicit racial bars to naturalization but preserves the national origins quota system. Supporters emphasize national security and immigration control during the Cold War. Critics, including Truman, argue that the quota system continues discrimination based on ancestry and national origin. Federal law formally opens naturalization beyond whiteness while maintaining a racially skewed immigration admissions system.