There are a lot of interesting things in this new report from the Brookings Institution called "The State of Metropolitan America," and there was one striking graphic I wanted to share. We all know that the face of immigration has changed in recent years, but compare the origin of today's immigrants to those from 1970, which doesn't seem like all that long ago:
In 1970, Europeans still made up 60 percent of all immigrants; now their proportion is down to 13 percent. And it isn't just Mexicans who have increased their share of the immigrant population, it's also Asians, Africans, and, well, pretty much everyone but Europeans (and Canadians -- their share is down as well).
Among the many effects of these changing patterns is that if you're a white person, most immigrants used to look like you, but now they don't, which could certainly heighten the perception that you're country is being "taken" from you, and you want it back.
-- Paul Waldman
