Throughout U.S. history, different immigrant groups have been stigmatized, discriminated against, or outright hated depending on the era, economics, wars, and shifting cultural anxieties. Here’s a broad timeline of major immigrant groups that faced hostility in America over the past 250 years:
Late 1700s – Early 1800s
- Irish Catholics – Faced hatred from Protestant elites; accused of being drunkards, criminals, and loyal to the Pope instead of American democracy.
- French refugees (post-French Revolution) – Many viewed as radical revolutionaries or carriers of “dangerous ideas.”
Mid-1800s
- Irish during the Great Famine mass migration – Subject to “No Irish Need Apply” job ads and violent riots.
- German immigrants – Targeted for preserving language, culture, and beer halls; seen as unassimilable and too politically radical.
- Chinese immigrants – Came for the California Gold Rush and railroad work; faced extreme racism, violence, and legal exclusion.
- Catholics in general – The Know-Nothing Party was explicitly anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant.
Late 1800s – Early 1900s
- Eastern European Jews – Accused of bringing anarchism, socialism, and crime; faced quotas and antisemitic prejudice.
- Italian immigrants, especially Sicilians) – Labeled as criminals, anarchists, and “racially inferior.”
- Polish, Hungarians, and Slavs – Seen as “unskilled laborers” who threatened American jobs; stereotyped as backward peasants.
- Japanese immigrants – Particularly on the West Coast,
1920s – 1940s
- Especially All Southern and Eastern Europeans.
- Mexican immigrants – Faced hostility during the Depression, when mass “repatriation drives” deported hundreds of thousands - many were U.S. citizens.
- German and Italian immigrants during WWII – Some were viewed as potential enemies; German Americans faced suspicion.
- Japanese Americans – Interned by the U.S. government during WWII.
1950s – 1980s
- Puerto Ricans and other Caribbean immigrants, especially in New York.
- Southeast Asians (Vietnamese, Cambodian refugees) after the Vietnam War, faced racism and hostility, especially in small-town America.
1990s – 2000s
- Middle Eastern and Muslim immigrants – After the 9/11 attack, all Arabs and Muslims were targeted as potential “terrorists.”
- Latino immigrants, especially undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans – Accused of being criminals, drug smugglers, and burdens on social systems.
- African immigrants – Increasing immigration from Africa faced anti-Black racism layered with immigrant stereotypes.
2010s – Present
- Syrian refugees and broader Muslim groups – Targeted by travel bans and anti-Sharia rhetoric.
- Central American asylum seekers – Labeled as “invaders,” sparking harsh borderpolicies.
- Chinese immigrants and Asian Americans broadly speaking – Faced heightened hostility during COVID-19, tied to anti-China sentiment and conspiracy theories.
- Haitian migrants – Often met with hostility, detention, or deportation, despite fleeing disasters and political crises.
📌 Big Picture:
Every generation has had its unpopular immigrant group. Over the long term, most of these groups—Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews, Asians, Latinos were eventually absorbed into the mainstream gaining broader acceptance. But hostility shifted onto the next “newcomers”.
|
Rank |
Origin Country |
Estimated Number in U.S. |
|
|
1 |
Mexico |
10.6-11.0 million |
|
|
2 |
India |
3.0-3.2 million |
|
|
3 |
China |
2.3-3.0 million |
|
|
4 |
Philippines |
2.0-2.1 million |
|
|
5 |
El Salvador |
1.5 million |
|
|
6 |
Cuba |
1.4-1.7 million |
|
|
7 |
Dominican Republic |
1.2-1.3 million |
|
|
8 |
Guatemala |
1.1 million |
