Unfortunately, this is true. Not only were there quotas, but there were rules that made it very difficult for them to settle here. Chinese men were lured here by the Gold Rush and jobs working on the railroad. When they got here, they faced racism and prejudice. Chinese women weren't allowed to come to the US, which was designed to keep the Chinese population in the US from increasing. It also meant that most Chinese men would eventually return to their wives and families in China. If you read the actual newspaper articles of the time, you'll see that the American prejudices against the Chinese were almost the same as they are now against Syrians and Central Americans: They are lazy, immoral, criminal, dirty, untrustworthy, and strange. Plus, they take our jobs and don't pay taxes etc. All of which were (are are) of course untrue.