Quote:
Originally Posted by manaboutown
Legally!
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Not all, no. Many were smuggled in. The potato famine in Ireland in the 1940's, and again during the Troubles in the 1970's and 1980's saw thousands of "illegal aliens" here in the US. There are over 10,000 undocumented Irish immigrants living in the USA, currently.
The first years leading to WWII saw thousands of "illegal aliens" from Poland, Germany, and other parts of Europe arrive in the US. By "illegal alien" I mean "undocumented immigrants." They didn't have "papers" - they gave a name, which was usually changed and anglicized, told the people on Ellis Island who they were going to visit - which was never checked - and as long as they didn't show symptoms of tuberculosis they were allowed to enter New York City.
Thing about the Europeans though - immigration wasn't tracked the way it is now. So MOST immigrants were what we now call undocumented, or "illegal." The government even created a process to make them permanent residents. If they were fleeing the war, fleeing persecution, fleeing for their lives - the American government helped them to legitimize their stay. But they had to be here "illegally" first.
Between 1880 and 1920, thousands of Italian immigrants fled Italy and came to the US, many of whom were undocumented.