Chapter Seventeen Reading Questions (1 of 2)

For Wednesday's class, please read Chapter 17 through page 422 and be prepared to answer
the following questions:

• What has changed and what has stayed the same in American immigration since 1986?
• In the 2000 census, what percentage of the population was foreign born? How does that compare to the historical numbers? (Hint: check the tables in this chapter and in chapter 6.)
• According to the 2000 census, the largest numbers of immigrants came from what regions of the world? Where did most settle? What were their education achievements and income?
• Why is the data so misleading when the census data on immigrants is lumped together?
• What does Daniels say the responsible historian must try to do?
• Who are "nonimmigrant" immigrants?
• Who do experts think comprise the major portion of the illegal immigrants?
• What is the longstanding discrimination against Mexican as opposed to Canadian border crossers?
• Why are the government's estimates of the number of illegal immigrants so unreliable?
• If we accept the government's numbers, what, in Daniel's opinion, are the vast majority of the 1.8% of the U.S. population that is undocumented?