ABSTRACT

Statistical Overview, 1965-2000 The period between 1965, when the landmark Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed into law, and the end of the twentieth century saw two fundamental changes in American immigration and demographics. The first was rapid growth in the number of immigrants admitted to the United States-as well as those who came in illegallywhich, in turn, led to a dramatic expansion of the foreign-born population in the country. The second development had to do with the changing composition of the immigrant and foreign-born population, from primarily European to largely non-European, especially Latin American and Asian.