Forth Wave of Immigration in the USA (Part 1)

In this post we will talk about everything that happened after the third wave. We will immerse ourselves in the migratory decline that the United States suffered until 1964 and the beginning of the fourth wave until the year 2000.

From 1915 until 1964, the United States will suffer a decline in immigration. The cause of this fact was the outbreak of the First World War in Europe (1914 - 1918). During the war, Congress enacted a law in 1917 that required immigrants over the age of 16 to pass a literacy test in order to enter the country. When immigrants began to arrive again after the war, their entry was restricted by the introduction of numerical limits or "quotas". On April 25, 1921, the Quotas Act was passed. A law that used immigration statistics to determine the maximum number of immigrants who would be allowed to enter the United States from each nation or region.

On April 24, 1924, the Immigration Act was passed. This law created the quota system that restricted the entrance to 2% of the total number of people of each nationality in America from the national census of 1890. This system favored immigrants from Western Europe and prohibited the entry of immigrants from Asia

After the severe economic depression of the 1930s and the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), the population born abroad from the United States decreased from 14.2 to 10.3 million. The United States did not admit a large number of refugees until after the war, an average of 250,000 immigrants entered each year during the 1950s.

Fourth wave immigrants began arriving in the United States in 1965 when the system changed. On April 24, 1965, the Immigration Reform Act was approved, which abolished the quota system based on national origin. The new system gave priority to “people with U.S. relatives and to a small number of people with outstanding accomplishments or special skills”.

As a result of this act, the nation experienced a change in immigration patterns. The majority of American immigrants came from Asia and Latin America instead of Europe. In the 1970s, Europeans constituted less than 20% of immigrants and only about 10% in the 1980s. In the 80s and early 90s, Asians constituted approximately one third of immigrants and Hispanics made up approximately half the number of immigrants.

During the 80s and 90s, illegal immigration became a topic to be addressed. On April 25, 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act was approved. This law penalizes employers for intentionally hiring undocumented immigrants, but granting amnesty to some of them, which allows them an oath to eventually apply for citizenship. This law was successful as most foreigners became legal immigrants but legalization also proved to be an incentive for more illegal immigration.

Concerns about the continuing problem of illegal immigration led Congress to pass another immigration law. On April 25, 1996, the Immigration Reform Act of 1996 was approved. “It increased the border patrol staff and stiffened penalties for creating false citizenship papers or smuggling undocumented workers”.

Legal immigration to the US increased from 250,000 in the 1930s, to 2.5 million in the 1950s, to 4.5 million in the 1970s and to 7.3 million in the 1980s, before resting at around 10 million in the 1990s. Since 2000, legal immigrants in the United States come to approximately 1,000,000 per year.

In the next post we will begin with the 21st century and we will talk about the continuation of this wave we are experiencing. But until then…

This is the prediction made by the U.S. Census Bureau on immigration until the year 2050. 

What do you think? Do you think the percentage of Hispanics will continue to increase as it has until now? We'd be delighted to read your opinions!

Information from:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Online: https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/agency-history/post-war-years

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Online: https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/agency-history/late-twentieth-century

History.com Staff, U.S. Immigration Before 1965. History.com (2009). Online: https://www.history.com/topics/u-s-immigration-before-1965
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF). Online: https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/immigration-timeline

Philip Martin and Elizabeth Midgley, “Immigration: Shaping and Reshaping America,” Population Bulletin 58, no. 2 (Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau, 2003). Online: https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2003/06/58.2ImmigrShapingAmerica.pdf
O'Callaghan, Bryn. (1993). An illustrated History of the USA. Harlow. Reino Unido: Longman Group Ltd. (Chapter 18)