Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
however, for the linguistic and cultural assimilation of minorities of European origin
who only differed from each other through their religious convictions. The period
1947-1964 was marked by a slight resurgence of European immigration in the
context of the Cold War. America welcomed citizens of the Eastern Bloc, including
many Jews and Germans, but also British and Irish citizens. With the 1960 election
of J.F. Kennedy, a billionaire of Irish Catholic descent, the WASPs stepped down
from their position of power for the first time. In 1965, the Johnson Act changed
conditions for welcoming immigrants and put an end to the quota system established
in 1924.
Since 1965 the country has welcomed more than 25 million legal immigrants,
with 400,000 annual admissions at first, gradually increasing since 1980 to exceed
one million entries per year in recent years. This immigration has two main origins
- Latin America, with a majority of Mexicans, and the Asian Pacific, of which the
Chinese are the leading immigrant community. Canada and Europe contribute much
less to these flows. The arrival of migrants from the Indian subcontinent is the very
recent consequence of the introduction of H1-B visas (1990 Immigration Act) to
respond to the need for qualified labor in the IT industry. This flow peaked at
100,000 admissions in 2000-01, just before September 11 precipitated a wave of
return migration (BtoB = Back to Bangalore). Influx continues, however, and there
were already 1.35 million citizens in the US in 2000 who were born in India,
Pakistan, or Bangladesh.
Besides legal immigration, there is also the issue of illegal immigration. Despite
the large number of residence permits issued, many Latin Americans, as well as
others, stay illegally in the United States. Estimated at three million people in 1980,
this population, generally employed in the service industry and in agriculture, was
estimated at 4 million people in 1986, a year when naturalization measures included
2.7 million illegal immigrants. These naturalizations took place in 1990 and 1991
(Immigration Reform and Control Act). Since then, it is estimated that the
population of illegal immigrants once again exceeded the level of four million in
1993, to reach 8.5 million in 2000. Economic growth is one reason federal
authorities tolerate this illegal practice which ensures the functioning of many
agricultural, commercial and construction businesses.
Meanwhile, refugees and asylum seekers are relatively few in number (421,000
in 2004) due to the distance of the US from zones of geopolitical instability (Africa,
Middle East). Net migration is currently estimated by the UN at an average of
1.3 million people annually over the period 2000-05.
