The immigrants to the United States of America (USA) have been encouraged by specific push factors in their home countries and puling factors in the USA. A comparison of the push and pull factors of immigration between the 1800 and 20-30 years age reveals a few similarities and differences. For instance, push factors such as famine, war, and persecution that were common in 1800. They have, however, have decreased. On the other hand, the economic struggle remains one of the push factors for immigrants in both periods. Also, the USA pulls immigrants to improve their life, raising a debate on whether they are immigrants or invaders.
In 1800, immigrants came to the USA to evade famine, economic struggle, persecution, and war. As such, they saw an opportunity to improve their lives in the new country. The industrial activities such as the California gold rush, the transcontinental railroad expansion provided opportunities for employment to immigrants. The USA also offered favorable legislation such as the Homestead Act of 1862 that allowed the allocation of land to the immigrants. However, over the last 20-30 years, immigration to the USA, unifies families, settles refugees, and introduces unique skills (Caponi & Plesca, 2014) . The changes in the immigration policies, such as the introduction of the National and Immigration Act in 1952 and subsequent amendments, have limited the number of immigrants allowing those uniting with their families of American origin. Also, the introduction of the green card lottery has encouraged the admission of immigrants that can contribute unique skills to the nation ("Immigration and Nationality Act," 2020) . Finally, the USA continues to admit refugees though their numbers are dwindling. As noted by Wright (2008), e xamples included refugees from war-ridden Somalia in 2004, Burma in 2008, and Iraq.
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In reaction to the immigration in the 1800s, most Americans were happy for the immigrants because of the contribution of cheap labor. The immigrants were vital in fuelling the industrial revolution by providing cheap labor to significant projects such as the transcontinental railway expansion. Also, the immigrants participated in the civil war between 1861 and 1865 (Wright, 2008) . However, in the 20-30 years, most American thinks that the immigrants are invading by unfairly competing for resources. The perceived invasion has initiated legislation against most immigrants that are likely to benefit from USA aid programs.
However, it is hard to take a definitive stance on the comparison of the two reactions in the discussed periods. As much as the Americans were happy about the cheap labor the immigrants contributed to the USA in 1800, they have increased the need to reunite the families in the 20-30 years. On the other hand, the current concentration of unique skilled immigrants and reduction on possible AID beneficiaries is likely to fuel the USA's economy. Nonetheless, immigrants contribute substantially to population growth and pressure on state resources (Caponi & Plesca, 2014) .
References
Caponi, V., & Plesca, M. (2014). Empirical characteristics of legal and illegal immigrants in the USA. Journal Of Population Economics , 27 (4), 923-960. DOI: 10.1007/s00148-014-0524-x
Immigration and Nationality Act. (2020). Retrieved 12 February 2020, from https://www.uscis.gov/legal-resources/immigration-and-nationality-act
Wright, R. (2008). Chronology of immigration in the United States . Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co.
