Today in Labor History March 3, 1903: U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1903, also called the Anarchist Exclusion Act, which bolstered previous immigration law, while adding four new classes of banned people: anarchists, people with epilepsy, beggars, and importers of prostitutes. Congress first discussed banning anarchists from entering the U.S. in 1889, in the wake of the Haymarket affair, when 8 innocent anarchists were framed for a bombing at a public demonstration in support of the eight-hour workday. Then, in 1901, Leon F. Czolgosz, a self-proclaimed anarchist, assassinated President William McKinley. The police responded by arresting numerous anarchists who had no connection whatsoever to the assassination, including Emma Goldman. The new immigration law had minimal effect. Over the next 11 years, only 11 anarchists were denied entry into the U.S., and four were expelled, under the law, including British anarchist John Turner.