Citation 5 Edw. 7 c. 13 | Royal assent 11 August 1905 | |
Long title An Act to amend the Law with regard to Aliens. Repealed by Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919 | ||
The Aliens Act 1905 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act for the first time introduced immigration controls and registration, and gave the Home Secretary overall responsibility for immigration and nationality matters.
While the Act was ostensibly designed to prevent paupers or criminals from entering the country and set up a mechanism to deport those who slipped through, one of its main objectives was to control Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe saw a significant increase after 1880 which served as some basis for the creation of the Aliens Act 1905. Although it remained in force, the 1905 Act was effectively subsumed by the Aliens Restriction Act 1914 that introduced far more restrictive provisions. It was eventually repealed by the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919.
Demands for restriction
In the 19th century, Tsarist Russia was home to about five million Jews, at the time, the "largest Jewish community in the world". Subjected to religious persecution, they were obliged to live in the Pale of Settlement, on the Polish-Russian borders, in conditions of great poverty. About half left, mostly for the United States, but many - about 150,000 - arrived in the United Kingdom mostly in England. This reached its peak in the late 1890s, with "tens of thousands of Jews ... mostly poor, semi-skilled and unskilled" settling in the East End of London.
By the turn of the century, a popular and media backlash had begun. The British Brothers League was formed, with the support of prominent politicians, organising marches and petitions. At rallies, its speakers said that Britain should not become "the dumping ground for the scum of Europe". In 1905, an editorial in the Manchester Evening Chronicle wrote "that the dirty, destitute, diseased, verminous and criminal foreigner who dumps himself on our soil and rates simultaneously, shall be forbidden to land". Anti-semitism broke out into violence in South Wales in 1902 and 1903 where Jews were assaulted.
Aside from anti-semitic sentiments, the act was also driven by the economic and social unrest in the East End of London where most immigrants settled. Work was difficult to come by and families required all members to contribute. The undercutting of British labour was a central driving force to the passing of the Aliens Act 1905.