Immigration was at its peak during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Europeans arrived to work in the factories of the industrializing cities and the Western territories taken from the Native American tribes. Immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in public services in their lifetime. The 1990 census reported that 20.4 percent of immigrants were on welfare, compared with 26.2 percent of U.S. native-born citizens. The percentage of immigrants living in poverty is growing faster than the percentage of native-born citizens. From 1980 to 1990, the number of native household in poverty grew by 11 percent, while the number of poor immigrant households grew by 42 percent.
Most immigrants come to the United States from Asia and Latin America.
From 1900 to 1990, the proportion of immigrants from Asia and Latin America increased from less then 1.5 percent to 25 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Most immigrants come into the United States illegally. Of the 20 million immigrants tallied in the 1990 census, only 15 percent were in the U.S. illegally. Although these figures do not account for some homeless immigrants and undocumented migrant workers, who return to their native countries when their seasonal work is over, the proportion of illegal immigrants to legal immigrants is still quite small. Recent immigrants tend to speak a language other than English in the home.