US immigrants shifted from primarily originating in Ireland and Germany to Mexico and India

Track the changes in US immigration law throughout history

This interactive timeline tracks the development of US immigration law, overlaid with time-series data on percentages of the foreign-born population. Explore how each major policy development correlated with immigration levels, revealing the relationship between legislation and demographic change.

The share of the immigrant population in the US peaked at nearly 16% in January 2025

In January 2025, the US reached a historic high of 53.3 million immigrants—nearly 16% of the population. By June of that year, the number had fallen by more than a million, ending 50 years of continuous growth in the immigrant population.

Irish music became popular in the US during the 19th century

The influx of Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s, driven by starvation and abysmal employment opportunities, led to a significant Irish-American culture, especially in urban hubs such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Irish immigrants deserted the US Army to fight for Mexico

During the Mexican-American War, hundreds of Irish Catholic immigrants—facing discrimination in the US Army—defected to Mexico and formed the Saint Patrick’s Battalion. Though many were captured and executed, they remain honored as heroes in Mexico.

Charting the countries with large Sikh populations

While the vast majority of contemporary Sikhs live in Punjab, India, millions have moved elsewhere in the world, especially in anglophone countries. This chart shows which countries host the largest communities of the Sikh diaspora in the world.

Studies show immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans

Research examining incarceration records and crime data generally finds that immigrants—including undocumented individuals—have lower crime and incarceration rates than US-born citizens, though measurement is limited by gaps in national data on immigration status.

The 1924 Immigration Act established national-origin quotas favoring certain regions

The Johnson-Reed Act established stringent national-origin quotas favoring northern and Western Europeans while restricting immigration from other regions. This article chronicles the act's origins, its implications, and subsequent efforts to overturn these restrictions.

40% of Americans have ancestors who immigrated via Ellis Island

For over 60 years, Ellis Island was the gateway to America, processing millions of immigrants seeking a new life. While many passed through with ease, others faced rigorous medical exams, legal scrutiny, and even deportation. Learn how this small island shaped generations of American families.

Every US state's top import partner

Mexico, Canada, and China are the top trade partners for 42 of the states.

Visualize the global Venezuelan diaspora

This visualization maps Venezuela’s mass diaspora, showing how millions have fled abroad—primarily to Latin America, with significant flows to the US and Europe—creating one of the most significant displacement crises in the world.

European diseases killed a massive share of the Native American population

After Western contact, epidemic diseases devastated Indigenous communities. By 1920, the Native American population of the US had fallen to roughly 270,000, compared with an estimated 1.2 to 18 million at the time of European arrival.

...and allowed newly arrived European immigrants to maintain their cultures

19th-century public schools often included Protestant spiritual instruction, something that was disturbing for Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland, and elsewhere, who found homes in neighborhood “parochial” schools.

Mexican Americans have become a part of Napa's tradition

While the Napa wine world was largely homogenous for many decades, things are beginning to change. This short video highlights Mexican American winemakers in Napa, focusing on the story of Elias Fernandez of Shafer Vineyards. Fernandez began his wine journey as a migrant grape-picker and has been making wine for over 40 years. In 2008, his vintage won Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year.

Flour tortillas are more common in northern Mexico

Of the several hypotheses for the origins of flour tortillas, the most likely is that European colonists in the region began cultivating wheat, which they used instead of corn when making tortillas.

The southbound Underground Railroad: finding freedom in Mexico

Until recently, the southbound Underground Railroad, as some scholars call it, has been largely overlooked, mainly because it left so few traces in surviving records. Read this article to learn more about this dangerous path and its travelers.

Many New Year's Eve traditions came from German immigrants

While it’s hard to trace the origins of many New Year’s traditions, many of the norms for American New Year’s Eve celebrations come from German immigrants, who significantly influenced American culture in the 1800s. Below is an excerpt from an 1863 New York Times article describing a German New Year’s celebration.

Traveling yogis spread the practice across the US

After a 1923 Supreme Court decision ruled that Asians were ineligible for citizenship, many South Asian immigrants had relatively few job opportunities and began moving around the country teaching yoga and spirituality. At the time, yoga was viewed less as a physical practice and more as a mystical one, something many of the teachers embraced to attract students. South Asians regained the right to citizenship in 1946.

Unconditional birthright citizenship is rare outside the Americas

Around 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, grant automatic citizenship by birthplace. Elsewhere—especially in Europe, Asia, and Africa—citizenship typically follows jus sanguinis, based on parental descent rather than location of birth.

The Great Migration spread jazz to various parts of the country

The large-scale migration of Black Americans looking to escape Jim Crow laws in the South began in 1915 and helped bring New Orleans music to other parts of the country, including Chicago, New York, Kansas City, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

See how income levels have changed in each state since 2010

Since 2010, the median household income has increased by 22% on average. Montana, the state with the largest growth rate, saw a 42.9% increase, while New Mexico saw the lowest income growth rate at 2.3%.

Here's how humans migrated across the world

From our deepest origins in Africa all the way to the Americas, by looking at the fossils and archaeological materials we have been able to trace the path our ancestors took during thee short window of time when we took over the world.

Texas' includes German, Mexican, and Polish influences

Beef brisket, served with white bread and pickles, and sausage—a holdover from German immigration in the 1800s—are two of the most popular dishes. The southern end of the state brings together Mexican barbacoa and fajitas.

See a data visualization of the East India Company's trade

This tool visualizes the East India Company’s trade from 1760 to 1834, letting you track shipments of tea, textiles, metals, and more. Users can sort by commodity, origin, destination, and date to see London’s vast imperial supply network that shaped the British Empire.

See a map of the Maya civilization and its major historical sites

This interactive map showcases the full geographic extent of the Maya civilization, highlighting major archaeological sites across Mexico and Central America. Explore where Maya cities once stood—and where their ruins can still be visited today.

The new H-1B fee will have a major negative effect on India

Because those born in India receive about 70% of H-1B visas, the $100K fee could sharply limit Indian IT firms' access to US markets and redirect skilled Indian workers to other countries.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day