To the Point
America Really Is a Melting Pot, After All
Nobody expected it, but the Immigration Act of 1965 quadrupled the number of new arrivals, increasing the population by 59 million people. Before then, the law favored Anglos from Europe. Their share of the population was 84%. Now it's just 62% -- less than half in cities like LA and Houston.
By Warren Olney • • 34m ListenNobody expected it, but the Immigration Act of 1965 quadrupled the number of new arrivals, increasing the population by 59 million people. Before then, the law favored Anglos from Europe. Their share of the population was 84%. Now it's just 62% -- less than half in cities like LA and Houston. On this 50th anniversary, we hear how the law is still changing the face of America — with Asian immigrants now outnumbering Latinos.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Immigration Act as Vice President Hubert Humphrey,
Lady Bird Johnson, Muriel Humphrey, Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy look on.
Liberty Island, New York on October 3, 1965
Official White House photo by Yoichi Okamoto
