| The United States, it has been said, is a nation of | | | | myriad of European powers. During the 1600s, |
| immigrants. From the first peoples who may have | | | | approximately 175,000 English citizens emigrated to |
| migrated across the Bering Strait to the European | | | | what became the original 13 states, but what was at |
| settlers who first arrived in the 1500s, on down to the | | | | the time a series of largely separated colonies unified |
| current influx of peoples from all over the world, North | | | | under the British crown. |
| America has long been a bastion of natural resources, | | | | According to estimates, between 400,000 and 1 million |
| hope, and possibility. As the famous inscription on the | | | | people arrived in what is now the US between the |
| Statue of Liberty reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, | | | | 17th and 18th centuries, most of them from England, |
| your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." The | | | | Spain, and France. Additionally, slaves from Africa |
| following is a brief history of immigration to this nation. | | | | were imported during this period. While this is rightly |
| The Colonial Period | | | | viewed as a terrible human-rights abuse, it did pave the |
| Very little is known about migration to North America | | | | way for the unprecedented cultural melting pot of |
| prior to the appearance of the first European settlers, | | | | modern America. |
| although many believe that the first people to venture | | | | If you are interested in learning more about immigration |
| into the Americas did so by crossing the Bering Strait. | | | | topics and immigration law, please visit the website of |
| The first period of mass European immigration came in | | | | the Austin immigration attorneys of the Law Office of |
| the Colonial Period, when what is now the United | | | | William Jang, PLLC, today. |
| States was divided into several colonies belonging to a | | | | |