Immigration to U.S. in 1980s May Set Record, Study Finds

Immigration to the United States during the 1980s is expected to match or exceed the historic high mark set by the flood of nearly 9 million immigrants who reached America in the first decade of the century, a new study of government statistics concludes.

The report by the Center for Immigration Studies, a research group, said the number of legal immigrants between 1981 and 1990 will equal or surpass the 8.7 million total between 1901 and 1910. If illegal immigrants are included, the current total would be several million higher, the group found.

In contrast with the earlier peak, which was characterized mainly by immigrants from Europe, the new arrivals are primarily of Asian and Latino descent, the report said. The current wave has rekindled debate over the nation’s ability to absorb large numbers of immigrants.

Government officials and private immigration specialists said they agreed with the study’s findings.

The study said the current immigration wave will mark the second time the number of arrivals in one decade has surpassed 8 million since 1820, when the government began keeping records.

The figure for the present decade has been bolstered by 2.4 million immigrants who sought amnesty under the revised immigration law.

In the last seven years, 4 million legal immigrants were admitted to the United States, Immigration and Naturalization Service statistics show. Officials said another 1.8 million are expected by 1990, if current trends continue.

The total is expected to reach the 8.7-million mark with the addition of those granted amnesty, along with hundreds of thousands of refugees and other immigrants who have received political asylum and are expected to be granted permanent resident status.