The New Chosen People: Immigrants in the United States.

This study conducted for the National Committee for Research on the 1980 Census is one in a series presenting analyses of data from the 1980 U.S. census. The focus of this study is on the foreign-born population resident in the United States in the last two decades 1960-1980....This group is also compared with the foreign-born population in 1900 and 1910 when immigration was at its highest levels in this century and with the native-born population in both time periods....We focus on...emigration naturalization language and the role of immigration laws in determining the number and type of immigrants. In addition we compare the characteristics and behaviors of the foreign-born such as their earnings participation in the labor market schooling and fertility with those of the native-born....We emphasize the important role of immigration selectivity in shaping the characteristics and behavior of the foreign-born population. Data are from U.S. censuses and from administrative records on legal immigrants. (EXCERPT)