Immigration and the U.S. Economy.

This article examine U.S. citizens' view regarding the issue of immigration in their country. President George W. Bush's recent immigration proposal has rekindled a heated debate about whether the U.S. should be more open or less open to new immigrants and under what circumstances. It also raises the issue of what should be done about illegal immigrants who have been living in this country for many years. Historically, the U.S. may be a nation of immigrants, but the type and number of immigrants and the circumstances under which they are admitted have been contentious public issues for well over a century. The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892 and the Immigration Quota Act of 1920 marked the beginning of restrictions on immigration as the country grappled with how to control the influx. The advent of public opinion polling in the 1930s created a new era of immigration policy analysis by providing insight into the pulse of the public on this issue. A review of the polling literature finds that there have been four major debates on immigration policy since polling data have been available. These debates have been influenced by factors such as immigrants' ethnic origin, the circumstances under which immigrants are fleeing their homes, and the state of the U.S. economy.