The majority settle in California. A world-wide immigration ceiling introduced. 1975 Indo-Chinese refugees seek political asylum. 1979 Wayne Gretzky from Canada plays his first professional season in the National Hockey League where he would hold many records including most points in a career. The Refugee Act of 1980 - Ten million permanent immigrants are admitted legally to the United States.
Illegal immigration adds several million more to the population.
Hakeem Olajuwon immigrates from Nigeria to play basketball for the University of Houston. 1981 Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian immigrant, stars in Conan the Barbarian propelling the action adventure genre to mega-blockbuster status. The Miami Sound Machine featuring Cuban immigrant Gloria Estefan releases its first English-only album. 1985 Nigerians emigrate to the United States, due to their homeland's economy and religious riots. The Immigration Reform and Control Act is passed, granting amnesty to many illegal immigrants.