This article is adapted from "Chew Heong v. United States: Chinese Exclusion and the Federal Courts", written by Lucy Salyer, associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, for inclusion in the Federal Judicial Center's project, "Federal Trials and Great Debates in United States History." In 1882, Congress adopted the first Chinese Exclusion Act and, in doing so, took a giant step away from its previous "open door" immigration policy. The act forbade the immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. It marked the beginning of the U.S. government's embrace of restrictive immigration policies and highlighted the different treatment immigrants received depending on their race and nationality. The case of Chew Heong, a Chinese immigrant who was one of thousands of Chinese to challenge the laws in federal court, provides fascinating insight into the nation's early efforts to control immigration and into the often difficult role of the federal courts in enforcing federal policies in times of political turmoil. (Contains 1 note, 2 resources and 6 online resources.)