tion. The public's mood dictated a more inclusionary approach, and Congress responded to their will. Patriotic, right wing, and veterans' groups, however, still voiced opposition to increased immigration.
A crucial factor in the postwar migration waves was the robust United States economy which lasted through the 1980s. The country experienced high growth and low unemployment. Consequently, the majority of the American public did not consider illegal immigrants a major threat to their economic status.
In addition to lax United States policy, economic and political forces in foreign countries also prompted the desire for their residents to migrate. Reimers (1985) describes these forces: "Poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and a lack of quality working conditions for the elites provided a powerful push. Political and social instability only added to the pressures to move" (pp. 245-246). Portes and Rumbaut (1990) summarize three factors which prompt migration from foreign countries: "For immigrants, the most relevant contexts of recepti
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