PSU Magazine Winter 1999

0 I By Joan Johnson '78 A sociology professor discusses old paths and new twists in U.S. immigration today. 16 PSU MAGAZINE WINTER 1999 G 15 A ave of new immigrants to the United States is transforming the face of America . In the past 30 years a steady stream of newcomers have arri ved on our shores and in our airports, making the 1990s the biggest influx in more than 100 years. In fact, 10 percent of the U.S. populat ion is made up of indi ,·id– uals who moved here duri ng the crest of this current wave. While other countries also have high immigrat ion rates (45 percenr of Israel's population are immigrants, for example), the U.S. leads the world in actual numbers. Immigration has been a running theme in American history since the first colonists arrived in Virginia. "The United States as we know it today would not have developed with– out immigrants," says Sharon M. Lee, associate professor of sociology. She points out that Native Americans make up only 1 percent of the total U .S. population; 99 percent of all Americans are immigrants or the descendants of immigran ts. What we're seeing now is a new immigration peak-a result of chang– 20 ing U.S. policy-manifest– ing itself in settlement patterns unlike what we've seen in the past. But at its heart is the same theme that has always been with us: people look– ing fo r freedom and opportunities. Lee, whose primary research focus is the study of immigration trends and immigrant adaptation, says the last time the United States experienced such massive immigration fl ows was during the 1880s and 1890s when millions arri ved from central, southern, and eastern Europe. Primarily Slavic and Medite rranean people, they left their homelands looking fo r a place where they could build a better life-if not , for themselves, at least for their children. At its peak, this in-migration made up 15 percent of the total U .S. population. In contrast, about 75 percent of lega l immigrants admitted in the 1990s were born in an Asian or Latin American country. Their arrival refl ects fr ie nd lier U.S. immigration policies than a century ago. Although d1ousands of As ians, primarily Chinese, had come to this country to work as laborers in the 19th century, hostility aga inst them led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Later legislation excluded most other Asians and passage of the National Origins Quota Act in 1924 gave favored status to those of northern European origin. After China became an ally of the United States during World War II, the barrier was lifted, but only slightly. A quota of 50 Chinese could then be admitted annually. Current law, amended in 1965, permits immigration from any country, with a cap of 20,000 immigrant visas per country per year, explains Lee. A very complex system of priorities then determines who actually receives a visa within this limit. For example, immediate family of U.S. citizens have first priority over all other applicants. Another priority recognizes the employment needs of U .S. industry. 1 he largest numbers of Asian mmigrants today come from the Philippines, Vietnam, and China (including Taiwan) . Mexico is the source of the largest number of Latino immigrants, fo llowed by the Dominican Republic and El Salvador. There is also a substantial fl ow of undocumented immigrants, mostly from Mex ico, but reliable statistics as to their numbers are not available. The new immigrants share many similarities with those who came before them. They must endure the trauma of leav ing what is familiar, to face risks, hardships, and an uncertain welcome in a strange new land. While earlier immigrants generally arrived by boat at East Coast ports such as Boston and New York, most of today's immigrants arrive by plane at points of entry across the nation. They fo llow similar settlement patterns, however, tending to cluster near ports