How come the people making "I love Lucy" were able to have this couple where the man was an immigrant at a time when interracial couples were forbidden from movies, and even outlawed in some states?
And it's not like they hid the fact that Ricardo was Cuban. They don't bring it up in every episode, but it does come up a few times
Edit: I misspelled "were" in the title, I will never outlive my shame
There was indeed some kurfuffle for having Lucy's husband be not-traditional-white-American, but the problem was resolved via rhumba.
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A couple problems with the premise: first, the Hays Code as applied from March 31, 1930, to December 1956 explicitly stated
Miscegenation (sex relationship between the white and black races) is forbidden.
before getting changed in December 1956 to
Sex perversion or any inference to it is forbidden.
Note that "white and black races" is how it is being defined, so it does not apply to I Love Lucy.
Additionally, the Hays Code was for film. I Love Lucy (launched in 1951) was not considered film, even though it was shot on film. Television adopted something very similar, the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, but it was first issued on December 6, 1951, after the launch of I Love Lucy. There is no mention in the document of miscegenation. The closest is the line about "the exposition of sex crimes" but that would be a stretch for the circumstances. There was much more conern about "illicit sex relations" not being "treated as commendable" and "respect" for "the sanctity of marriage".
(ASIDE: here's a fun one: "Televised drama shall not simulate news or special events in such a way as to mislead or alarm.")
Having said all that, it doesn't mean things were smooth sailing for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The proto-version of I Love Lucy was the 1948 radio show My Favorite Husband and Lucille wanted Desi to play her husband, but the network objected and her on-air spouse was Richard Denning instead.
As something of a test run Lucille Ball joined Arnaz on his tour with his rhumba group, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra. They did comedy skits during the summer of 1950, with an enormously positive response. While this was happening, Ball's agent was working behind the scenes trying to get a show off the ground that would star both Arnaz and Ball. While during the floating of I Love Lucy the network did suggest a traditional white American husband (like the radio show), the enormously popular response to the summer performances (and the absolute determination from Ball for the TV show to star her husband) was enough to solidify Desi as the right choice. While the touring performances were not recorded, some routines ended up in the show itself, so you can watch; here's a dance from episode 3, season 1.
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Ball, L. (1997). Love, Lucy. United States: Penguin Publishing Group.
Merskin, D. Galician, M. ed. (2007). Critical Thinking About Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media: Media Literacy Applications. Taylor & Francis.