• countries have adopted selective immigration policies
• Preference shown for specific employment placement and family reunification
• Passing of the quota act in 1921 and the National Origins Act in 1924 by the U.S congress marked the end of unrestricted immigration to the U.S
• More seek admission to the U.S than is permitted by the quotas thus preferences are shown toward

1. Family Reunification
2. About 3/4 of immigrants
3. skilled workers
4. approximately 1/4 of immigrants

• Some countries alleged preferences for skilled workers contribute to brain drain- a term for disproportionate amount of highly skilled and intelligent citizens migrating away from sending countries.
• Unauthorized immigrants are those who enter countries without proper documents
• Characteristics of undocumented immigrants in the U.S
• source country
• roughly 58% emigrate from mexico
• Children
• Of estimated 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants, nearly 1 million are children.
• Unauthorized immigrants have given birth to 4.5 million children on U.S soil making the children U.S citizens.
• A illegal immigrant has a baby, that baby is called an anchor baby
• Years in the U.S
• in 2010, 35% of adults had been in the U.S for at least Fifteen years
• Distribution
• Texas and California have the largest amount of Illegal immigrants.