The Rise of New Immigrant Gateways: Historical Flows and Recent Settlement Trends

Audrey Singer, The Brookings Institution

The 1990s brought an unprecedented number of immigrants to the United States. More than 11 million additional immigrants were added to the population during the decade. Census 2000 shows that a significant number of immigrants are finding their way to and settling in new places that have seen little immigration to date. Using historical Census data, this paper examines the urban destinations of immigrants during the entire 20th century and classifies cities and metropolitan areas into a typology of immigrant gateway types that describe the ebb and flow of past, present and future receiving areas.