The history of US immigration

US   IMMIGRATION   HISTORY

Most immigrants to the U.S. in the colonial era were English, Scots and (Protestant) Irish. Many German immigrants came to Pennsylvania and New York, for religious freedom and economic opportunity. Dutch settled in New Amsterdam (now New York). Black slaves were involuntary immigrants, mainly to  to tobacco plantations of Virginia and Maryland, and the rice plantations of South Carolina. 

The American Revolution cut off immigration from 1775 to 1783. After the war, 80,000 Americans immigrated to Canada, or returned to Great Britain.

In the nineteenth century, immigrants could stake their claims in the US for a new life. After arrival, the Irish accounted for 68% of all immigrants to the Northeast; Germans accounted for 47% of all immigrants to the Midwest; British immigrants accounted for 19% of immigrants to the Northeast and 20% of immigrants to the Midwest. 

The British, German, and Irish had success in U.S. labor markets, often in skilled occupations. Irish Catholic immigrants did not do as well, but were better off remaining in Ireland. Wages were much higher in the U.S. than in Europe, and it was much easier to own a farm. But Americans worked much harder than their European cousins and took fewer holidays.

From 1865-1900, roughly 10 million European immigrants came to the U.S., for religious freedom and hopefully, greater prosperity. German and Scandinavian immigrants were especially eager to own land. Many moved to cities. Few immigrants went to the poverty-stricken South.

The government built Ellis Island in 1892, near the Statue of Liberty,bto accommodate the influx. After 1892, a short physical examination was given -- those with contagious diseases were not admitted. 

In 1850, fewer than 4,000 Italians were estimated in the U.S. However in By1880, there were 44,000 Italians, and 484,027 by 1900. 

Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad in California and Nevada was handled mainly by American engineers and Chinese laborers. In the 1870 census there were 58,000 Chinese men and 4,000 women in the entire country. There were 100,000 Chinese men and 4,000 women in the 1880 census.

Labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor strongly opposed the competition from Chinese labor. Immigrants from China were not allowed to become citizens until 1950, although their children born in the U.S. were full citizens.

Congress banned further Chinese immigration through the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, banning Chinese laborers, but some students and businessmen were allowed in. The Chinese population declined to only 37,000 in 1940. Some returned to China. The Chinese people were not welcome in many areas, so they resettled in the "Chinatown" districts of large cities.

The Immigration Act of 1924 reduced the number of immigrants from 1925 to 1966. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 caused immigration levels to reach new highs. In 2017, the number of foreigners in the U.S. reached the highest level since 1910.

Persons obtaining 

legal permanent

resident status 

by decade:

Decade	Average per year
1890-99	369,100
1900-09	745,100
1910-19	634,400
1920-29	429,600
1930–39	69,900
1940–49	85,700
1950–59	249,900
1960–69	321,400
1970–79	424,800
1980–89	624,400
1990–99	977,500
2000–09	1,029,900
2010–17	1,063,134

Top 10 sending countries:

Country	2015	2016
1. Mexico	158,619	174,534
2. China	74,558	81,772
3. Cuba	54,396	66,516
4. India	64,116	64,687
5. Dominican R.	50,610	61,161
6. Philippines	56,478	53,287
7. Vietnam	30,832	41,451
8. Haiti	16,967	23,584
9. El Salvador	19,487	23,449
10. Jamaica	17,642	23,350
Total	1,051,031	1,183,505

Place of birth for the foreign-born population in the United States:

Top ten countries	2015	2010	2000	1990
Mexico	11,643,298	11,711,103	9,177,487	4,298,014
China	2,676,697	2,166,526	1,518,652	921,070
India	2,389,639	1,780,322	1,022,552	450,406
Philippines	1,982,369	1,777,588	1,369,070	912,674
El Salvador	1,352,357	1,214,049	817,336	465,433
Vietnam	1,300,515	1,240,542	988,174	543,262
Cuba	1,210,674	1,104,679	872,716	736,971
Dominican Republic	1,063,239	879,187	687,677	347,858
South Korea	1,060,019	1,100,422	864,125	568,397
Guatemala	927,593	830,824	480,665	225,739
All of Latin America		21,224,087	16,086,974	8,407,837
All Immigrants	43,289,646	39,955,854	31,107,889	19,767,316

Source: 1990, 2000 and 2010 decennial Census and 2015 American Community Survey