History of immigration to the United States

The history of immigration to the United States details the movement of people to the United States from the colonial era to the present. Throughout U.S. history, the country experienced successive waves of immigration, particularly from Europe and later from Asia and Latin America. Colonial-era immigrants often repaid the cost of transoceanic transportation by becoming indentured servants in which the new employer paid the ship's captain. In the late 19th century, immigration became restricted from China and Japan. In the 1920s, restrictive immigration quotas were imposed although political refugees had special status. Numerical restrictions ended in 1965. In recent years, the largest numbers have come from Asia and Central America.

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European immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, New York City in 1915
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Attitudes towards new immigrants have cycled between favorable and hostile since the 1790s. Recent debates focus on the southern border and on the status of "dreamers" who have lived almost their entire life in the U.S. after they illegally migrate with their families as children.