The Immigration Act of 1882 placed restrictions on which of the following?

The Immigration Act of 1882 is significant because it was one of the first pieces of legislation to place specific restrictions on who could enter the United States. Under this act, certain categories of individuals were deemed undesirable and were explicitly prohibited from immigrating. This included individuals who were considered paupers, lunatics, or criminals, among others.

By focusing on these specific groups, the act aimed to maintain social order and public safety, reflecting the period's prevailing sentiments about immigration and its potential impacts on American society. This legislation marked a shift towards a more regulated immigration policy, as it was one of the earliest instances where the United States implemented a formal system of exclusion based on perceived personal characteristics or social status.

Other choices either restrict the scope of the act or misinterpret its purpose. For instance, the act did not specifically target only European immigrants, nor did it focus on those seeking political asylum, as concerns at that time were primarily about maintaining a certain standard of who could enter the country. Therefore, the correct answer accurately encapsulates the primary goal of the Immigration Act of 1882—limiting entry based on the designation of individuals as undesirable.