The History of Migration in The United States of America.
The first data collected on immigrants done in 1850 showed that 2.2 million immigrants were living in the United States at the time which accounted for 10 percent of the population. In 2017 this number increased drastically making a historically high of 44.5 billion migrants residing in the country. Twenty one percent of which entered in 2010 or later, 21 percent arrived between 2000 and 2009, 22 percent between 1990 and 1999 and 31 percent before 1990.
There were however, some fluctuation between 1860 and 1920 of the number of foreign born, where the percentage of immigrant share was between 13 and 15 percent. Restrictive immigration laws, the Great Depression and World War II however, led to a decrease in immigration with the lowest record being 4.7 percent in 1970 ( 9.6 million).
There was then a steady increase in migration after these events as a result of:
Shifts in the U.S immigration law including the abolition of national- origin admission quotas from the Immigration Act of 1965, the Refuge Act of 1980 and preferential treatment of Cuban immigrants.
The growth in the economy of the United States
Increase military presence in Asia and Latin America
Economic ties
Power immigrant and deep migration history between the United States and its southern neighbors
Economic transformation and instability in the political arena in countries around the world
The Change in the Immigration Pattern
There is a significant difference between the nations that dominate American immigrants now compared to the mid- 1990s where the immigrants were mostly Europeans. During the 1960s, no single country accounted for 15 percent of the total immigration population; but now, Mexico has dominated this arena accounting for approximately 25 percent of immigrants in America, making them the largest group. Italians were the top origin group responsible for 13 percent of the foreign born in 1960 with Germans and Canadians making up approximately 10 percent each.In 2017, Indians and Chinese were the second largest groups of immigrants following the Mexicans.
The other groups that made up the top ten immigrant nations according to statistics collected in 2017, included Filipinos ( five percent), El Salvador, Vietnam, Cuba, Filipinos ( 3 percent each) and South Korea and Guatemala (2 percent each).
Even though Mexico is the country with the most immigrants post- 1970, there was a decline in new arrival of Mexican immigrants in America after the 2007- 09 recession, resulting in less Mexicans in America in 2017 compared to 2010. This group represents the largest decline of immigrants, with new arrivals of immigrants mostly coming from Asia.
More statistics
According to American Community Survey (ACS) one in seven US residents are foreign born.
the 2018 Current Population Survey states that foreign born and their U.S born children now number approximately 89.4 million people which is 28 percent of the overall U.S population.
Pew Research predicts that in 2065 the U.S residents of immigrants will increase to 36 percent.
Written by : By Jie Zong, Jeanne Batalova, and Micayla Burrow
Source : Migration Policy Institute
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