but 50 years ago, president lindon johnson signed an immigration act of 1965. he said the new law would address the un-american national origins quota system which allowed three countries to supply 70% of all of the immigrants accepted into the united states. instead, the new law granted access to people's skill sets. >> reporter: san francisco's china town has always been the heart and soul. the home away from home for the chinese men and women who immigrated to this country. with the start of the california gold rush, chinese men seeking what they called the mountain of gold began flocking to america. most of them would be ill prepared to deal with the cruelty they would face in this new land of opportunity. >> from the beginning there was recentment from the chinese from whites and the government in particular. it was government thinking that the chinese could never be assimilated into american society and the idea began a self-fulfilling prophesy as racial intolerance forced the chinese into their own world of isolation. that world that was china town. the