The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a significant piece of legislation in the United States that prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the country. This law was the first to restrict immigration based on nationality and was a response to growing anti-Chinese sentiment among American workers, who feared job competition and economic instability. The act was initially set to last for ten years but was extended multiple times and made permanent in 1902. It effectively barred all Chinese immigrants from entering the U.S. until it was repealed in 1943, reflecting the broader patterns of discrimination and exclusion faced by the Chinese community in America.