Immigration

Immigration

a building front with the word "immigration" indicating the building name

An immigrant is defined as a person who comes from one country to live in a another country.  The United States is, by definition, a nation of immigrants.  Every single person who currently lives in the United States can trace his or her ancestry back to someone who immigrated to the land upon which our country rests.  Archaeologists believe that the first people to live in North America traveled over an ice bridge between Asia and what is now Alaska, so American Indians can trace their heritage to people who immigrated to North America.  Much later, in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, Europeans immigrated to what is now the United States, when they came to colonize it.  Those Europeans also brought over slaves, which was a form of forced immigration.  Since then, people have continued to immigrate to the United States.

Graph IconTake a moment to review the table below. It shows the top ten countries from which people immigrated to the United States in 2013.  These ten countries account for half of all immigrants who came to the United States during 2013.

2013 Lawful Permanent Resident Flow
Country Region Number of Immigrants Percent of Total
Mexico Latin America 135,028 13.6
China Asia 71,798 7.2
India Asia 68,458 6.9
Philippines Asia 54,446 5.5
Dominican Republic Latin America 41,311 4.2
Cuba Latin America 32,219 3.3
Vietnam Asia 27,101 2.7
South Korea Asia 23,166 2.3
Colombia Latin America 21,131 2.1
Haiti Latin America 20,351 2.1

What do you notice about the location of the countries that people are leaving to come to the United States?  Based on the information you see in the chart, which two regions sent the most people to the United States in 2013? Just as in 2013, for the last thirty years, more immigrants have come to the United States from Asia and Latin America than anywhere else.

One reason for this is that the United States changed its immigration rules with the Immigration Act of 1965. This act reversed the restrictions of the 1920s, making it easier for people from a more diverse set of countries to immigrate. Immigrants from Asian and Latin American countries benefited from this change.

The United States government estimates that at the end of 2012, there were about 22,660,000 legal immigrants living in the United States along with another 11,430,000 illegal immigrants.  The total population of the United States at the end of 2012 was about 315,000,000 people.  That means that seven percent of the population of the United States were legal immigrants, 3.6 percent of the total population were illegal immigrants, and overall almost ten percent of the United States population were immigrants. 

Reasons for Immigration

Reasons for Immigration InteractivityPeople immigrate to the United States for many reasons, but the two most important reasons are political freedom and economic opportunity.  People who live in the United States enjoy many freedoms.  People who are oppressed in other countries are drawn to the United States for a few different reasons. In this interactivity, you will learn about the reasons immigrants migrate to the United States. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Immigration Controversy

Immigration Controversy InteractivityPoliticians will continually debate the issue of immigration. It is widely agreed upon that immigrants have made valuable contributions to America in a variety of different fields (including music, sports, and education). There are also many minorities with immigrant family backgrounds who have been elected to public offices at both the state and national levels. Yet some Americans feel immigration policies need to be reformed. Immigration can cost the government and take away valuable jobs from native-born Americans. In this interactivity, you will discover the contributions and controversies surrounding the issue of immigration. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

Arizona’s Immigration Debate

Digital Repository IconThe state of Arizona was in the middle of the debate on immigration in 2010. Arizona’s southern border meets the northern border of Mexico. Both illegal and legal immigration in the state are extremely high. The issue with immigration in Arizona is a result of states’ rights versus the rights of the federal government. The federal government controls the border, therefore, enforcement of immigration laws lie on federal border control agents, not local law enforcement. Take a moment to view the video, Immigration Debate, from eMediaVASM to learn about the issue of immigration in the state of Arizona, and discover how it became a national issue in 2010.

 

Immigration Review

Self-Check IconImmigration Review InteractivityNow that you have completed your investigation of modern immigration, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Click the player button to get started.