History of migration to the U.S. - Statistics & Facts

The legacy of migration to the U.S. has led it to become known as “a nation of immigrants” with a rich and diverse “melting pot” or “salad bowl” of cultures. However, the issue is often complex, including the forced transfer of Africans during transatlantic slavery, or later policies that restricted migration based on nationalities, ethnicity, or religion. Today, the U.S. sees over a million more immigrants arrive in the country than emigrants leaving, which greatly contributes to population growth but has also seen it become one of the most prominent sociopolitical issues in recent times.

Impact on native populations

Humans are believed to have arrived in mainland North America approximately 20,000 years ago, having crossed the Bering Strait from Russia to Alaska. The descendants of these people are considered the continent’s indigenous population, and in the U.S. this mostly refers to American Indians and Alaska Natives. Hawaiians are also considered an indigenous group but are descended from Polynesians who first settled the islands around 1,000 years ago. The arrival of European settlers on mainland North America in the 17^th century greatly displaced native populations from their territories, and introduced new diseases that saw their numbers drop significantly. Pre-Columbian population estimates vary widely, and the region of the U.S. mainland may have had 3-4 million inhabitants before contact with Europeans, but it is believed this figure fell below 10 percent of this level by the late 1800s.

Settlement in the colonial era

European migration to the present-day United States did not begin in earnest until the establishment British colonies in the 1600s. The first British settlement was founded in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, and the southern region grew prosperous through the production of cash crops (first tobacco; then cotton and grains) that were exported to Europe. This business model was akin to that of Britain’s Caribbean colonies, although population growth, both naturally and through immigration, was higher in North America as the climate was more temperate and this limited the impact of tropical diseases. Nonetheless, pandemics and food instability were still common and could lead to mass deaths, especially in early years and along the frontier.

The northeast (New England) was settled by British Puritans, known as Pilgrims, in 1620, who had left Europe in search of a place where they could practice their religion without persecution or state interference. Religious freedom, particularly for Christians and Jews, would go on to become a significant pull factor for migration in the centuries to come and its legacy is often cited as a reason for high levels of religiosity in the U.S. compared to other similarly-advanced countries. Between New England and the southern colonies, the Dutch established New Netherlands in 1626, although the region did not attract the same level of settlement until it was taken by the British in the 1660s, after effectively being traded for Suriname. Thereafter, Britain’s Thirteen Colonies would extend along most of the east coast, stretching from present-day Maine to Georgia. Settlers from the British Isles were the dominant group in the colonial period, alongside smaller numbers of Dutch, French, and German settlers, although this diversified in the 1800s.

Indentured servitude and slavery

Many poorer Europeans used the system of indentured servitude to fund their journey across the Atlantic. Generally, this was where workers entered contracts of indenture, promising several years of unpaid labor in exchange for passage across the Atlantic. While the majority of this was voluntary, many criminals were involuntarily transported to the New World via this system, and it is believed that over 50 percent of all European arrivals in the Thirteen Colonies before 1776 were indentured servants. These contracts could be bought and sold and treatment could parallel that of slaves in many ways, however indentured servants were not slaves as their contract lengths were fixed, they were treated as people and not property in the eyes of the law, and they were often granted land and provisions upon completion of contracts.

For the majority of Black Americans today, they are the descendants of enslaved Africans forced across the ocean during the transatlantic slavery. On average, Middle Passage routes from Africa to North America were among the longest and deadliest, with almost one in five dying at sea. Fewer than three percent (around 390,000) of all captives taken from Africa disembarked in the U.S. (mostly in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Chesapeake Bay area), yet the U.S. would eventually have the largest slave population in the world as higher survival and birth rates due to the climate meant that millions were born into a life of slavery. After the importation of slaves was abolished in 1808, migration from Africa was extremely low due to widespread poverty and lack of opportunity.

Migrant waves in the 19^th century

It was not until the 1840s that the so-called ”Age of Mass Migration” began, with industrialization playing a key role. Technological advances caused labor demands to fall in agriculture and unemployment rise in rural areas of Europe, while new transport technologies reduced the cost of transatlantic travel. Through this, waves of German and (later) Scandinavian farmers emigrated to the U.S., with many settling in the Midwest. Agricultural hardships in Europe were exacerbated by potato failure in the 1840s, and this had the most profound impact on Ireland – from a population of roughly eight million, around one million died within four years and over two million left the island by 1855, many of whom eventually settled in the northeastern urban centers. Along with the arrival of many more affluent, educated, and politically minded migrants from central Europe after the failed 1848 Revolutions, these groups had a significant impact on the development of American society on both a regional and national level - around two centuries later, German, British, and Irish ancestries remain the most-commonly claimed heritage among white Americans.

The American Civil War saw a brief decline in immigration, and labor shortages caused by the war led the U.S. government to implement policy allowing workers from overseas to be contracted. The final decades of the 1800s were also characterized by a sharp rise in migration from Southern and Eastern Europe, from areas such as Italy, Poland, and the Russian Empire, as well as various ethnic groups such as Jews or those from Austria-Hungary. Cultural differences and language barriers saw large diaspora communities from these groups form, which often existed separately to mainstream society – the legacy of this is still event in many neighborhoods in major cities today. A sizeable Chinese diaspora also developed in the West, with many Chinese immigrants drafted to work in the mining and railroad industries.

Targeted restrictions and fluctuations in immigration

From 1875, both the federal and state governments began restricting immigration to try and protect the majority status held by the white, Protestant ruling class, as well as protect American jobs from overseas labor during economic hardships. For Europeans, the first significant restrictions came after the First World War: the war had caused a pause in migration to the U.S., but this meant that demand surged in its aftermath and remained high during the and unstable interwar period, especially from the East. Quotas were implemented in 1921, before the Immigration Act of 1924 redistributed quotas based the existing ethnic composition of the U.S. population, which allowed for greater numbers of migrants from Northern and Western Europe, while limiting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. Additionally, migration fell significantly during the Great Depression.

For Asians, restrictions came much earlier, most notably with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This prohibited any further immigration from China, before it was expanded to ban almost all Asian immigration in 1917 - a move that greatly contributed to Japan’s hostility in the build-up to WWII. In 1943, the Act was repealed for Chinese migrants and they were made eligible for citizenship due to China’s contribution to the Allied victory, while the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 then ended the blanket ban on other Asian countries.

The rise of Latin American migration

The post-WWII era brought a dramatic shift in migration patterns to the U.S. The European share of migrants dropped due to rising prosperity and stability in democracies, and the gradual closing of borders in communist countries. Additionally, the wave of decolonization in Asia saw greater opportunities for migrants from this region, although many of these were displaced due to conflict, particularly the Vietnam War. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended the quota-based system, replacing it with a first-come, first-served system, with a total allocation of 170,000 visas for migrants from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, and 120,000 visas for migrants from the Americas, with preference given to skilled workers and relatives of U.S. citizens.

The largest change during this time was the rise in migration from Latin America, which has greatly altered demographics and culture in the U.S.. Mexico has consistently been the most common country of origin for Latin American migrants, however the sharp uptick in illegal migration across the southern border since the 1980s has changed the dynamics of U.S. migration policy and become an integral issue in U.S.-Mexico relations. Additionally, a large Cuban diaspora has developed in the U.S., especially in Florida, due to waves of migrants seeking political asylum between the Revolution in 1959 and the 1990s. Migrant quotas were regularly adjusted in the late-1900s, however illegal arrivals often overwhelmed border-control resources. This was somewhat alleviated by the Immigration Act of 1990, which expanded the criteria for naturalization and greatly increased immigration quotas, especially for skilled workers.

21st century migration

Public attitudes changed somewhat in the 21^st century, as the 9/11 attacks saw immigration become one of the most prominent issues in politics. The Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002, and stricter measures surrounding border security, surveillance, and deportations were implemented through agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Legal migration rates remained high, however, with roughly one million permanent residencies (green cards) granted in most years since the 1990s. Additionally, there have consistently been calls to ease restrictions for naturalization of illegal migrants and their children (known as Dreamers), many of whom lived most of their lives in the U.S. and are integral to manual-labor industries such as agriculture and construction. Yet, the issue continues to divide the electorate – it was integral to the rise of Donald Trump, whose anti-immigrant rhetoric, border wall policy, and “Muslim Ban” all garnered approval from many of his supporters. The post-pandemic surge in immigration has brought the issue to the fore once more, and the Biden administration's perceived mishandling of immigration may prove decisive going into the 2024 election.