<P> The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (H.R. 2580; Pub. L. 89--236, 79 Stat. 911, enacted June 30, 1968), also known as the Hart--Celler Act, changed the way quotas were allocated by ending the National Origins Formula that had been in place in the United States since the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 . Representative Emanuel Celler of New York proposed the bill, Senator Philip Hart of Michigan co-sponsored it, and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts helped to promote it . </P> <P> The Hart--Celler Act abolished the quota system based on national origins that had been American immigration policy since the 1920s . The 1965 Act marked a change from past U.S. policy which had discriminated against non-northern Europeans . In removing racial and national barriers the Act would significantly, and unintentionally, alter the demographic mix in the U.S. </P> <P> The new law maintained the per - country limits, but also created preference visa categories that focused on immigrants' skills and family relationships with citizens or U.S. residents . The bill set numerical restrictions on visas at 170,000 per year, with a per - country - of - origin quota . However, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and "special immigrants" had no restrictions . </P> <P> The Hart--Celler Act of 1965 marked a radical break from the immigration policies of the past . Previous laws restricted immigration from Asia and Africa, and gave preference to northern and western Europeans over southern and eastern Europeans . In the 1960s, the United States faced both foreign and domestic pressures to change its nation - based formula, which was regarded as a system that discriminated based on an individual's place of birth . Abroad, former military allies and new independent nations aimed to delegitimize discriminatory immigration, naturalization and regulations through international organizations like the United Nations . In the United States, the national - based formula had been under scrutiny for a number of years . In 1952, President Truman had directed the Commission on Immigration and Naturalization to conduct an investigation and produce a report on the current immigration regulations . The report, Whom We Shall Welcome, served as the blueprint for the Hart--Celler Act . At the height of the Civil Rights Movement the restrictive immigration laws were seen as an embarrassment . President Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 act into law at the foot of the Statue of Liberty . </P>

What was the intent of the immigration act of 1965