Identification
During the 1850s, many Chinese began immigrating to the United States to work as cheap labor. In 1892, the Geary Act was passed which would require all Chinese workers to register with the Internal Revenue Service. Those who refused to register would face arrest and possible deportation. This is also the first time in the history of the country that anyone was required to carry identification. Not only were papers required to work, but every Chinese person had to take two white men as witnesses when applying for their papers. This was almost as humiliating as having to show their papers on request – much like checking for a dog's vaccination tag on its collar.
The Benevolent Companies (Chinese Six Companies) tried to overturn the Act in the Supreme Court. However, the law was upheld and remained in force to control Chinese immigration until World War II.
References
Katz, Ellen D. 1995. "The Six Companies and the Geary Act: A Case Study in Nineteenth–Century Civil Disobedience and Civil Rights Litigation". Western Legal History 8, no. 2:227–272. [Accessed From: University of Michigan Law https://repository.law.umich.edu/articles/2778/]Onion, Rebecca. 2015. "The Papers Late–19th–Century Chinese Immigrants Had to Carry To Prove Their Legal Status". The Slate Group. [Accessed From: Slate https://slate.com/human–interest/2015/01/history–of–chinese–exclusion–certificates–required–by/the–geary‐act.html]