“It was best for America that our incoming immigrants should hereafter be of the same races as those of us who are already here, so that each year's immigration should so far as possible be a miniature America, resembling in national origins the persons who are already settled in our country. . . ." (The Immigration Act of 1924) American natives have a long line of discriminatory behavior against new ethnicities entering the United States. Although their own ancestors were individuals who sought refuge in America, they have been unable to grasp a sense of acceptance towards foreign people. America is a country not intended to be boarded up and put into isolation, which legislations such as the Immigration Act of 1924 has tried to accomplish. Rather, it is a place where people are meant to seek their goals and have a chance at reaching them. Throughout the country’s history, people have wanted to come to the United States. Immigrants desired to either establish new lives in America, or create better lives to return to in their native land. A new wave of immigration into the United States was spurred by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, causing an increase of Asian and Latin American immigrants.

On the day that President Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965 he stated, “The bill we sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions. It will not restructure the shape of our daily lives.” (Affecting the Lives of Millions) The enactment of the bill did create a change in America. In 1970, only five years after the act was made, Immigration to America had doubled. (Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965) The ethnicity of the immigrants to America changed as well as the number. Asia and Latin America became the main source of immigration, taking the title from Europe for the first time. (A Nation of Immigrants) This was a drastic differentiation from the previous denial of Asian immigration. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allowed countries of the Eastern hemisphere 20,000 person quotas, while those coming from the Western hemisphere were able to immigrate free of a quota. It also extended a family reunification which gave the family members of immigrants the opportunity to come to America. (The 1965 Immigration Act) The act greatly increased the number of foreigners able to enter the United States. By doing so, America’s doors were opened for a flow of new immigrants. The makeup of the country would be once again changed as it had in previous eras, and new ethnicities and backgrounds would infiltrate the culture of America.

Asian immigrants were discriminated against since their first arrival to America in the mid nineteenth century. Due to the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, they were finally given the opportunity to come to the United States in large quantities. Asians accounted for 0.5% of the American population in 1960, and the percentage rose to 3.7 in the year 2000. (The American Journey 900) This increase was caused by the ability to take advantage of family reunification after Asian immigrants gained citizenship in America. “Since 1971, out of the 18 million or so immigrants around the world admitted to the United States, about 7.3 million of them were born in Asia.” (The 1965 Immigration Act) One cause for Asian immigration into America has been war. America is a place of refuge, and has opened itself to the distressed peoples amidst combat in Asia. “The Indochina Migration and Refugee Act allowed the special entry into the United States of over 759,000 Vietnamese, 145,000 Cambodians, 186,300 Hmong, and 232,000 Laotians from 1975 through 2002.” (Immigration Policy Center)  Asian immigrants changed the face of America, and the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 made it possible. A completely different culture from what had previously been brought by European immigrants was exposed to the American people upon the vast arrival of Asian immigrants.

In the 2000 census, there were 35.6 million Hispanics living in the United States, making up 12.5 percent of the total population. Latin Americans account for one third of the population of immigrants in America. (The American Journey 900) America has seen a significant increase of Latin Americans since the start of the 1960s. The major contributor of Latin American immigration is Mexico. (The American Journey 900) Illegal immigration has been a large problem concerning the Mexican immigrants. They consist not only of the majority of Latin American immigrants, but of illegal immigrants as well. Most enter America to earn money that they can then bring back into Mexico for their families. “Immigration is ultimately driven by demand for labor in the U.S. market. Mexicans migrate to the United States not simply because wages are higher, but because Americans want to hire them.” (Griswold) They take the low paying jobs that Americans are not willing to take. Due to Mexico’s convenient location to the American border, Mexicans will come as long as they have work. As the numbers of Latin Americans increase throughout America, the country as a whole has changed. They are no longer a very small minority in American society. They have come to America as an opportunity to increase their quality of life in their native countries.

Over the course of its existence, the country of freedom has brought discrimination upon its minorities. However, as time goes on, America has grown in acceptance. By passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, America once again recreated its image. It allowed new cultures from new parts of the world to immigrate to America. During the 1960s, the social setting of America was able to change. After thirty years of trying to exclude people from entering the country, patterns of immigration became altered. The new wave not only brought a great increase of immigrants, it brought a new face of immigration in the Asians and Latin Americans. As the culture of America grows, a stronger, more unique society is shaped.

 

Works Cited

“Affecting the Lives of Millions: The Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965.” Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research. 2 June 2009. http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/exhibits/immigration/immigration.shtml.

“A Nation of Immigrants.” Americanheritage.com. 1 June 2009. http://www.americanheritage.com/immigration/articles/magazine/ah/1994/1/1994_1_75.shtml.

“A New Era in U.S. Immigration Policy.” Immigration Policy Center. May 2004. 1 June 2009. http://immigration.server263.com/index.php?content=pr0405.

Goldfield, David, et al. The American Journey. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.

 Griswold, Daniel T. “Confronting the Problem of Illegal Mexican Immigration to the U.S.” USA Today Magazine March 2003: Vol. 131 Issue 2694.

“Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965.” absoluteastronomy.com. 2 June 2009. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Immigration_and_Nationality_Services_Act_of_1965.

“The 1965 Immigration Act.” 2 June 2009. http://www.asian-nation.org/1965-immigration-act.shtml.

“The Immigration Act of 1924.” 2 June 2009. http://www.personal.umd.umich.edu/~ppennock/doc-immigAct.htm.