Representative Abram S. Hewitt expressed concerns about anti-Chinese legislation, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, during congressional debates in 1882. This was the year the Act was introduced, debated, and ultimately passed by Congress before being signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882.

Hewitt's objections were part of broader debates where a small but vocal minority of lawmakers raised moral, ethical, and economic concerns about excluding Chinese immigrants. His arguments reflected apprehension about the discriminatory nature of the legislation and its implications for the nation's values.