[5] Historically, immigration policy had been based on economic arguments, but new research suggests eugenics as influencing public opinion on admission criteria.

[7] Similarly, the work of Sir Francis Galton on advocating for eugenics found heightened interest and readership during the late 1800s, reflecting the growth of racial pseudoscience based ideas amongst the American public at the time.

[2] Nonetheless, this fails to acknowledge that the immigration debate had been around for decades as well as early ideas of racial distinctions and these factors continued to influence Commission members as much as economic ones.

[13] Data collected by the Commission did not support racial preconceptions, when taking to account the success of immigrants and their level of assimilation, but recommendations were made, nonetheless.

[16] However, the Commission did not hold any public hearings or cross-examine witnesses, also choosing not to use "information from census reports, state bureaus of labor and statistics or other agencies".

[17] When considering educational standards applicable to immigrants, only 2 out of 26 questions on an assessment form related to student achievements and failed to take into account economic differences, when reaching conclusions on literacy levels.

[20] Finally, it was also recommended that information about opportunities for agricultural purposes be made available by states that desire more settlers, in order to attract immigrants that were willing to help with this need.

[21] The Commission recommended that further restrictions be placed on unskilled immigrants with a literacy test to prove they would be of a sufficient educational standard to assimilate into American society.

[21] This led to the proposed bills for the new literacy test which were passed by Congress but vetoed first by William Howard Taft in 1913 and subsequently Woodrow Wilson in 1915 (and again in 1917).

[citation needed] The literacy test and head tax that came with this act were ineffective, preventing just 1,500 immigrants annually, from entering the country between 1918 and 1921.