Immigration Trends in the United States
The chapter on immigration trends describes the current legal and illegal paths of immigration to the United States; a historical perspective of the reasons for migration; the past and current numbers of immigrants who have arrived in the United States and their demographic profile; which countries contribute immigrants and which states receive them; the changing race and ethnicity of the immigrants throughout the country’s history; the immigrants’ levels of education, skill sets, and financial attainment at the time of arrival and after the second generation. A demographic profile of the illegal immigrants, their vulnerability for exploitation, and their financial importance to the country’s economy is presented. The composition of immigrant families, some of the psychological effects of geographical separations and deportations on the family, factors that facilitate or impede assimilation and adaptation, the intergroup relations, values, and political orientation of the different immigrant groups, and the immigrants’ financial contributions to the United States are discussed.