The chinese exclusion act of 1882 prohibited immigration of any chinese person for 10 years. this was in response to

Chinese workers took jobs for low pay in mining and railroad construction in the United States. It wasn't "nativism" that prompted the passing of the act. It was the fear by citizens living on the west coast that the unchecked flood of Chinese workers then entering the country would displace them from their own jobs and livliehoods. Therefore its primary motivation for being passed was economic, not nativist views.

Nativists panicked because they feared Chinese immigrants would take all the railroad jobs because they were willing to work for lower wages. This was a major factor in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.