In the late 1800s, people in many parts of the world decided to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States. ... During the 1870s and 1880s, the vast majority of these people were from Germany, Ireland, and England - the principal sources of immigration before the Civil War.
The vast majority of California's immigrants were born in Latin America (50%) or Asia (40%). California has sizable populations of immigrants from dozens of countries; the leading countries of origin are Mexico (4.1 million), China (969,000), the Philippines (857,000), Vietnam (524,000), and India (507,000).
