Immigration Act of 1891 creates the first federal deportation bureau

President Benjamin Harrison signed the Immigration Act of 1891 on March 3, 1891, creating the Office of Superintendent of Immigration — the first federal bureaucracy dedicated to inspecting and deporting noncitizens. The act extended deportation authority beyond Chinese laborers to cover all immigrants who entered in violation of federal law, and centralized enforcement under the executive branch rather than state governments. Section 11 authorized deportation at the expense of whoever facilitated the alien's unlawful entry.