Daily AncestorExcluded classes
Excluded classes were the groups U.S. immigration law barred from admission, such as convicts, people with contagious diseases and those likely to become a public charge.
The Immigration Act of 1882 barred idiots, lunatics, convicts and persons likely to become a public charge. The 1891 act added polygamists, people convicted of crimes of moral turpitude and those with loathsome or contagious diseases, and later laws kept adding to the list. Contract laborers and, under separate laws, Chinese laborers were barred too.
Inspectors held anyone they suspected of belonging to one of these classes for a hearing. The cause written on a hearing list, such as LPC or a medical certificate, usually names the class charged. Most people held were admitted after a short hearing.
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Daily Ancestor. "Excluded classes." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/immigration/excluded-classes. Last checked 2026-10-12.