 McKinley was assassinated in 1901 by a Polish anarchist, Congress passed the Anarchist Exclusion Act, preventing people with “radical” political ideology from becoming U.S. citizens. The Act would be expanded in 1918 in the wake of a successful socialist revolution in Russia. The legislation would remain largely in effect for the rest of the Homesteading Era! It was expanded in 1950 with the passage of the Internal Security Act and would not be repealed until 1971.
So, what does all this mean to the Homestead Act of 1862? I think here it is important to note that the Homestead Act did not exclude any population, however, it deferred to the naturalization laws of the United States. What was unique about the Homestead Act was its inclusive nature. Because it deferred to other laws like naturalization, the Homestead Act was quite adaptable to fluctuating shifts in social, legal, and political ideology. And it was this adaptability that made the Homestead Act relevant for 123 years.
University of Huston Department of History, “Digital History,” University of Huston, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/immigration_chron.cfm (accessed July 26, 2011).
 Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, “Aspiration, Acculturation, and Impact: Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930,” Harvard University Library, http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration (accessed July26, 2011).
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5076/, United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, Certificate From The Circuit Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit., No. 202. Argued January 11, 12, 1923.—Decided February 19, 1923, United States Reports, v. 261, The Supreme Court, October Term, 1922, 204–215.