Before the great migration from europe in the 1880s, chinese immigration to the united states was welcome because

During the 1880s, the United States was growing into a regional power. As the country expanded westwards, there was a need for cheap and hardworking labor to work in the mines, on building train tracks and developing new cities.

Hence, in the 1880s, Chinese immigration to the united states was welcome because the country needed hardworking and cost-effective labor.

Many of these early Chinese immigrants settled in Hawaii, Los Angeles and San Francisco.