Immigration In The United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Immigration In The United States - Essay Example During this period the ban on Asian entry was lifted and all the nations were on an equal footing. This brought in an unexpected flow of immigrants from Korea, Taiwan, China, and the Philippines. There was a sharp and sudden increase in immigration from India, China, and Korea by 1980s and as a result, the population of Asians in the US started rising. As the economic and political condition in Vietnam deteriorated, the US government had no alternative but to allow them to enter the US. For different reasons, immigration from Latin America and Asia surged during the 1980s. It is also estimated that by 1990 there were additional 3.3 million undocumented immigrants living in the US of which 75 percent were from Mexico. In 1996, the total Mexican population in the United States was 7.15 million of whom 2.35 million or 38 percent were unauthorized. There was a backlash against the immigrants in the mid-nineties when the federal immigration law became punitive and restrictive. The immigra nts were blamed for the social and economic problems. There was a fear that Americans of European descent would become a minority and this projected shift is already evident in urban areas like Los Angeles and Miami (Massey, 1995). Immigration is changing the size and composition of major cities in the US. Card (2007) says that immigrants are usually drawn to expanding cities particularly to cities with historical enclaves of earlier immigrants. Immigrant arrivals increase the local population with a limited outflow of other groups.