(Roughly) Daily

U.S. IMMIGRATION BY ORIGIN AT BIRTH, 1830-2015

From policy particulars to deep questions of morality, the issue of immigration in the United States has come up with fierce urgency in recent weeks.

But today’s immigration battles take place within a long, slowly accruing history that is difficult to grasp in its sheer scale and complexity. Tens of millions of people who represent every corner of the globe have immigrated to the U.S. over the last two centuries. The picture that emerges over time can resembles a living organism, which inspired this graphic.

Trees’ annual growth rings reflect varying environmental conditions, and these forms are not perfect circles or ellipses… Like countries, trees can be hundreds, even thousands, of years old. Cells grow slowly, and the pattern of growth influences the shape of the trunk. Just as these cells leave an informational mark in the tree, so too do incoming immigrants contribute to the country’s shape.

These immigration “rings” expand during years when certain welcoming factors are prevalent, such as when American immigration policies become less restrictive and its economy offers greater opportunity. The “rings” tend to stay slim during years of war or economic upheaval.

The origins of U.S. immigrant populations also transform from era to era. In the 1840s and 1880s, European immigrants came mainly from northern and western Europe, whereas the famous influx of  the early 1900s, symbolized by Ellis Island’s gateway, emanated mostly from southern and eastern Europe. Immigration from Asia rose between 1970 and 2000, while large-scale immigration from Latin America began in 1950 and lasted for half a century. Immigration from Africa only becomes visible in the 21st century, though early U.S. Census data omits populations of slaves and indigenous communities…

More at: “200 Years of U.S. Immigration Looks Like the Rings of a Tree.”

* George Washington

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As we muse on the melting pot, we might recall that it was on this date in 1889 that Tijuana, the largest Mexican city in Baja California was founded.  From the beginning Tijuana saw its future in tourism.  From the late 19th century to the first few decades of the 20th century, the city attracted large numbers of Californians coming for trade and entertainment. The California land boom of the 1880s led to the first big wave of tourists, who were called “excursionists” and came looking for echoes of the popular novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.

These days, while the city still attracts it share of visitors from El Norte (300,000 per day), Tijuana has also become a way station for Latin American and Haitian refugees hoping to find asylum in the U.S.

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