Immigration In The Late 1800s

There are many similarities and differences when it comes to immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries versus modern day immigrants. Even though there is a myth that immigrants are overrunning the United States, “immigrants make up approximately 13% of the U.S. population today and between 1900 to 1930, it was a similar number of about 12-15% of the population” (adl.org). No matter which era, “immigrants mostly came to America for the same reason- to find greater economic opportunities for themselves and their families”(history.com). From the 1880s to 1920, most immigrants, among the 20 million who immigrated during that period, came from Eastern, Southern, and Central Europe. After 1920, The Immigration Act was put in place which

Today, most immigrants come from Latin America and Asia, instead of Europe. In the 1880’s, the Alien Contract Labor law and the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed which restricted certain laborers from immigrating to the U.S. because the Chinese were willing to work for less than the American people. Americans did not like that because it caused wages to drop. In 1892, Ellis Island opened in New York which was an immigration station where immigrants would gather to enter America. They were subject to health and legal inspections and were questioned. They asked questions such as, “where were you born?”, “how much money do you have?” and “have you ever been convicted of a crime?”. They then either entered America or were sent home. Today, the immigration system in America has many more restrictions and regulations which makes it very complex. To be eligible to become a U.S. citizen, an immigrant must have a green card for at least five years. Along with that, they must pay an application fee, be at least 18 years-old, have continuous residency, demonstrate “good moral character”, and pass English, U.S. history and civics exams. These are just a few of the