The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Why do you think the US government singled out Chinese immigrants in particular for exclusion?

Because the Chinese were taking jobs in the US.

There are two likely reasons why the government chose to restrict Chinese immigration into the United States in particular. The first reason was the fact that Chinese people were considered competition in areas of the country that were reasonably wealthy, such as California. Certain industries such as mining had large numbers of Chinese laborers, which meant that less jobs were available for Americans. The second reason was racism, as America was reluctant to accept large numbers of immigrants that were not of Caucasian or European origin.