Celler is best known for ushering major civil rights legislation through the House throughout the mid-20th century.

• He served in the US House of Representatives from 1923 to 1973.

• The Hart-Celler Act (also known as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965), which he developed and led to passage, eliminated national origins as a consideration for immigration.

• Celler was also the principal author fo the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.