Final answer:
Asian migration to the US has been shaped by restrictive laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese internment during World War II, with significant shifts occurring with the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, leading to increased Asian immigration and the formation of diverse communities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Asian migration to the United States has been influenced by various pieces of legislation and court actions. Initially, laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 aimed to restrict Asian immigration. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924 followed suit, severely limiting the number of Asian immigrants allowed into the United States, and, in the case of the 1924 Act, outright banning Japanese immigration.
World War II marked a dark period for Japanese Americans, where Executive Order 9066 led to their internment in camps. Although the Supreme Court did not overturn the internment policy, it did establish the unconstitutionality of race-based classification in the Korematsu v. United States case.
The landscape started to shift with the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 that ended the near-total ban on Asian immigration, albeit under tight quotas and lingering prejudice. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, passed under the Johnson administration, marked a turning point by removing severe restrictions on immigration from Asia, thus opening the door to greater Asian and Latin American immigrant communities.
In addition to legislation, Asian Americans were involved in landmark cases on racial discrimination, such as Lau v. Nichols which addressed the civil rights of non-English-speaking students. This history reflects the complexity and evolution of immigration policy and attitudes toward Asian Americans in the United States.