History of immigration to the United States

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European immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, New York City in 1915
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Throughout U.S. history, the country experienced successive waves of immigration, particularly from Europe and later on from Asia and from Latin America. Colonial-era immigrants often repaid the cost of transoceanic transportation by becoming indentured servants where the employer paid the ship's captain. In the late 1800s, immigration from China and Japan was restricted. In the 1920s, restrictive immigration quotas were imposed but political refugees had special status. Numerical restrictions ended in 1965. In recent years, the largest numbers of immigrants to the United States have come from Asia and Central America (see Central American crisis).

Attitudes towards new immigrants have fluctuated from favorable to hostile since the 1790s. Recent debates have focused on the southern border (see Illegal immigration to the United States and Mexico–United States border wall) and the status of "dreamers", people who illegally migrated with their families when they were children and have lived in the U.S. for almost their entire lives (see Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).