The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first ban on immigration based on ethnicity and was not repealed until 1943. Racism was the root of the creation and perpetuation of this law. It was the belief that if more Chinese immigrated to the U.S. to fulfill labor needs in both agriculture and railroad construction (Central Pacific), it would drive out White laborers (Takaki, 2008). At the time though, only 0.002% of the US population was Chinese or of Chinese descent (Takaki, 2008). This act not only barred Chinese from entering the U.S. but also denied naturalization to Chinese already present in the country.

Muslim Americans faced harsh racism in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Many Americans laid blame for the attacks on Muslims and casting them all as terrorists and traitors to the country. Islamaphobia also affected Hindu Indian Americans, Sikhs, and Christian Arabs (CAIR, 2021). While the attacks were over 20 years ago, anti-islamic sentiments continue with policies (the Muslim Ban from travel and entry to the US) from former President Trump and hateful rhetoric from his presidential campaign. According to a Center on American-Islamic Relations' survey, 69% of respondents "personally experienced at least one act of anti-Muslim bigotry or discrimination since 9/11" (CAIR, 2021).