Justice
200 Years of U.S. Immigration, in 1 Colorful Infographic
A new data visualization captures the waves of arrival.
In 1819, Congress passed a law requiring that the arrival of all immigrants be recorded. Immigrant workers were needed, and the rest of the 19th century saw their numbers grow. From that period through today, America has seen waves of immigration, which Natalia Bronshtein has captured in a colorful interactive graphic.
"The point of this visualization ... is to get the big picture while preserving the ability to drill down into the details," Bronshtein tells CityLab via email. "Much has been said and written about immigration to the U.S., but I wanted to get a birds-eye view, a reification of the issue, that would help me as I explored the topic further."