By: HISTORY.com Editors
Eisenhower signs the Refugee Relief Act of 1953
On August 7, 1953, with the Cold War in full force, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the Refugee Relief Act (RRA) of 1953, providing U.S. visas primarily for refugees and escapees from communist countries. Replacing the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which had expired the year before, the RRA allowed the United States to legally admit 214,000 immigrants through its borders, including many still displaced by World War II.
“In enacting this legislation, we are giving a new chance in life to 214,000 fellow humans,” Eisenhower announced after signing the bill. “This action demonstrates again America’s traditional concern for the homeless, the persecuted and the less fortunate of other lands.”
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In order to receive a visa under this law, applicants underwent a months-long process that included corroborating their political history and loss of a safe home. They also needed to show sponsorship by an American citizen who could help pre-arrange their U.S. employment and assure they would not seek welfare benefits. Much of the work of facilitating jobs, housing and sponsors to help them assimilate into American life was done by voluntary grassroots organizations.
Through its text and implementation, the RRA largely enshrined “refugee” as meaning “anticommunist European.” Out of the 214,000 available visas, it set a quota of only 2,000 for ethnic Chinese refugees and 5,000 for others from the “Far East.” Eisenhower had specifically requested that Congress admit more immigrants from southern Europe, who had been excluded from the quota system created by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The act designated some 60,000 of the visas for refugees of ethnic Italian origin.
The RRA was noteworthy for codifying three definitions of displaced persons. A “refugee” meant any person who fled a noncommunist country because of “persecution, fear of persecution, natural calamity or military operations.” An “escapee” was any refugee who fled from a Soviet or other communist country “because of persecution or fear of persecution.” And a “German expellee” meant any refugee of German ethnic origin living in Germany or Austria who was born in and forcibly removed from—or forced to flee from—the Soviet Union or one of its European satellites.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- Eisenhower signs the Refugee Relief Act of 1953
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 29, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- August 06, 2025
- Original Published Date
- August 06, 2025
