Menlo School Library: Immigration: Resources

Background information and data sets

Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-born Population of the United States: 1850-1990
Historical immigration statistics from the US Census Bureau.
Immigration: Student Discovery
A free ebook provided by the Library of Congress containing background information and primary sources.
Immigration and Migration
The PEW Center publishes a large amount of information about immigration to the United States. Use the search field to narrow in on your topic.
Immigration before 1965
Overview article describing America's various waves of immigration.
Immigration to the United States, 1789 - 1930
A dense site from Harvard University, with background information and primary sources (letters and memoirs).
Migration Policy Institute
Data and analysis of the movement of people around the world.
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
Find US immigration data from 1996 - 2019 from the Department of Homeland Security.

Where each state's largest immigration population was born

Click the image to see the animated graphic

Memoirs

Bracero History Archive
Oral histories from the program that brought Mexican agricultural workers to the United States from1942 to1964.
Expressions
Memoirs of 13 Mexican migrants. Written in Spanish and English.
Irish Immigrant Letters Home
A collection of letters from the mid-1800's, sent by Irish immigrants to Pennsylvania.
Italian-American Immigrant Oral History Catalog
Audio interviews with 150 people who immigrated to Michigan from Italy in the 1900s.
Rostros y Rastros
Memoirs of Mexican migrants. This book is written in Spanish.

Database resources:

America's Historical Newspapers (Newsbank) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Look here for newspaper articles from many cities across the US.
- What’s included?
  350 years of newspapers and broadsheets.
Historical Newspapers: U.S. Major Dailies (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  Find news reporting from major United States newspapers on a variety of historical events.
- What’s included?
  Archived newspaper articles from past issues of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune.