Immigration's changing face.

The U.S. prides itself on being a "nation of immigrants," with some of the world's most welcoming immigration policies. But America's immigrant profile has changed dramatically in two centuries. Spanish settlers arrived in the 15th century, and the British and Dutch came a century tater. Europeans remained the dominant immigrant group into the 20th century--Germans until the 1030s, and Italians from the 1030s to the 1970s. Then, changes in immigration taws brought unprecedented numbers of immigrants from outside Europe, with Mexicans today accounting for the largest share of America's immigrants.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) The percentage of Mexicans in the foreign-born population of the U.S. in 1980 was about--that of 1960.

a quadruple

b triple

c double

d half

(2) In 2000, the Mexican share of the U.S. foreign-born population was closest to that of --people in 2006.

a Asian

b Latin American

c African

d European

(3) What percentage of Latin American-born people riving in the U.S. in 2006 did not hail. from Mexico?

a 12.5 percent

b 15 percent

c 22.5 percent

d 53 percent

(4) In 1960, the Mexican-born population of the U.S. was 576,000. In 2006, it was 11.6 million--an increase of about--.

a 11 percent

b 360 percent

c 1,000 percent

d 2,000 percent

(5) These graphs do not show

a how 9/11 may have affected immigration.

b the number of immigrants in the U.S.

c why the numbers have shifted.

d all of the above.

Discussion Questions

1. Asians now account for twice as many of the foreign-born residents of the U.S. as Europeans. Why do you think this is so?

2. In 2006, about 38 percent of the U.S.'s foreign-born residents from Mexico rived in California and about 20 percent in Texas. Why would those states have the highest percentages of Mexican-born residents? The other states with the largest numbers of Mexican immigrants include Illinois...