culture.They would overcrowd U.S. cities and make them dirty, ugly,
and dangerous, and they would fragment U.S. values and loyalties.

These reactions led to the enactment of legislation that sought to
restrict the number of persons allowed to enter the United States as
aliens and to specify countries from which they could come. Such
legislation began in the 1880s and culminated following the end of
World War I with the Quota Acts of the 1920s. Restrictive immigra-
tion statutes were also enacted in the 1950s following the end of World
War II, but other factors, including hundreds of thousands of
refugees from countries taken over by Communist regimes, altered
the U.S. policy of restrictionism and brought about legislation that
admitted aliens into the United States outside existing quotas. The
illegal entry into the United States of hundreds of thousands of aliens
also caused reconsideration of U.S. immigration policy.

Although magazines are the major media source for depicting
U.S. beliefs and opinions about immigration, national poll data on
immigration have been included, going back as far as data are
available (from the mid-1930s).

The present volume expands the range of this book from 1980 to
1990. The expansion is especially noteworthy because it includes a
decade in which two major pieces of legislation bearing on the
number and types of immigrants allowed to enter this country were
enacted. Media coverage of the debate preceding passage of the
immigration bills was extensive and provided useful insights into
beliefs about how immigrants are beneficial or hurtful to U.S. society,
as are the national poll data that are included for the 1980-1990
decade. An appendix describing the major anti-immigrant move-
ments in this country has also been added.

Data on the number of immigrants who have been admitted from
1980 to 1990, their demographic characteristics, and the countries
from which they came are also updated. The major provisions of the
immigration laws that have been enacted in the 1980-1990 period are
included. In sum, this volume portrays the tension, the ambivalence,
and the confusion in U.S. beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and policies
vis-A-vis immigration.

We acknowledge with appreciation and thanks the help of Linda
Ireland, Fannie Norwood, and Ari Radestsky.

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