Abstract: This article explores the relationship between disability and state immigration law in the mid-nineteenth century. It argues that, at the height of Irish migration, Massachusetts actively made it difficult for immigrants with a disability to be granted entry into the state. Commonwealth statutes and records from the Port of Boston indicate that, while immigrants were generally allowed entry into Massachusetts, those who fell under specific criteria of disabilities had to post bond, and the Commonwealth systematically documented this. The regulations were designed to dissuade foreigners who could not financially care for themselves from migrating; they were also designed to meet the increasing nativist attitude in the state. The bonding system disproportionately targeted Irish immigrants, whom nativists believed were generally poorer, sicker, and morally repulsive. It established a method of discrimination that reflected the social and political attitudes towards individuals with a disability in antebellum America.