Immigrants have not landed on Ellis Island for more than 60 years. Today, the island is a museum operated by the National Park Service.
But immigrants still come to the United States every day. A few arrive by boat; others land in jumbo jets at international airports; still others drive across the U.S. borders with Canada or Mexico. The newest immigrants get their vision of the United States not from glowing letters written by family and friends but from American TV shows beamed round the world via satellite. But the biggest difference between today’s immigrants and those of the past is where they come from. Although Europeans still arrive on these shores, they are greatly outnumbered by immigrants from Asia and Central America. Let’s take a look at the “new wave.”