U.S. Immigration History When Ellis Island opened, a great change was taking place in U.S. immigration. Fewer arrivals were coming from northern and western Europe—Germany, Ireland, Britain and the Scandinavian countries—as more and more immigrants poured in from southern and eastern Europe.

Four-leaf clovers, leprechauns, rainbows, pots of gold – all of these are Irish symbols brought into American culture, generally shown on St. Patrick’s Day to indicated good luck, wealth, and prosperity (Myths). Lastly, the Irish influenced American culture by means of the Gaelic and Celtic languages.

The Irish American story, which spans hundreds of years of immigration, is strongly linked with Ellis Island. The primary trigger for the influx of Irish into America was the Industrial Revolution, from the 1760s, as farmers and laborers lost their livelihoods and Europe became more industrialized.

1794

Switzerland and Australia are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world. In 2010, Swiss voters approved the deportation of criminal foreigners and in February 2014, the federal popular initiative “against mass immigration” was approved by 50.3% of voters.

Although rare, it is possible for a naturalized U.S. citizen to have their citizenship stripped through a process called “denaturalization.” Former citizens who are denaturalized are subject to removal (deportation) from the United States.

Immigration Act of 1882