To be fair, public charge laws had been on the books for decades prior to the 1930s, and the Immigration Act of 1924 was far more important as a mechanism for Jewish exclusion.

But public charge laws were still a serious obstacle.

— David Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) January 27, 2020

The whole idea behind HIAS as a mutual aid society was helping refugees from pogroms in Russia in the late 19th century by securing Jewish immigrants from exemption on account of public charge laws.

— David Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) January 27, 2020

The quick march to criminalizing immigrants and immigration wholesale continues apace…At this rate their long held wish of dismantling birthright citizenship may very well come true, and second- and third-class citizenship not too far behind.