ss. Whites introduced equipment such as washing machines and steam presses. “To compensate for the lack of equipment, the Chinese offered lower prices and extra services” (Chan 40). The white laundry operators were upset and called for a boycott of the Chinese. They took it even further when they persuaded lawmakers to pass a law requiring all laundry operators to pay a 25-dollar per year registration fee. “The Chinese formed and independent laundry association called the Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance” (Takaki 49). It was only then that the Chinese laundry workers were able to improve their situation.World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. In 1941, the U.S. decides to join the war. The ban on Chinese immigration is partially lifted and Chinese are urged to join the military although they are not considered naturalized citizens. “Congress in 1943, fully lifts the ban on Chinese immigration and also permits them to become naturalized citizens” (Daniels 17). Asians are now allowed to hold political office. Chinese now also have the right to vote.The Immigration Act of 1965 allows for a second wave of Asian immigrants. “20,000 Chinese were permitted each year to enter the United States” (Takaki 103). Families of Chinese immigrants already living here were permitted to move to the United States as well. Between 1965 and 1984, 419,000 Chinese came to the U.S. This was greater than the total number of people that immigrated the whole previous century. By 1985, New York’s Chinatown, which had never had more than 15,000 people at one time, was now home to 100,000 Chinese immigrants. The second wave, unlike the first, was comprised of more females than males. Females accounted for fifty-two percent of those who immigrated between 1965 and 1975. “Of the 300,000 foreign college students in the U.S. in 1980, half of them were Asian countries. ...
