Before we talk about immigration policy, it's important to understand the immigrant population over time. This is because immigration policy is often motivated by changes in the immigrant population. As you saw in part 1 of this course (theories of boundaries, race and historical ideas of assimilation), people had very strong opinions about specific immigrant groups over time. Those negative or positive views will be stronger when there is a larger population of these immigrants in the United States. When reading about changes in immigration patterns, think about the ways you think this may have influenced people's opinions about immigration policy.

Powerpoint: Overview of Immigration Patterns

Learning Objectives

Understand changes in the immigrant population
Consider how ideas of race may influence people's opinions of the changing immigrant population

To Do List

Read by: September 15

Waters and Ueda – pp. 14-19