"I am reminded of the Know-Nothing Party of the 1950, who were also anti-immigrant. Rather than being anti-Hispanic, they were anti-Irish and anti-Catholic; one of their "accomplishments" was destroying the stone that the Pope had sent for inclusion in the Washington Monument, then under construction. Like many of the current crop of anti-immigrants, hey also felt that the allegedly higher birth-rate among Catholics and the Irish in particular would destroy American culture."

    artbrooks--I think you meant the 1860's. But one of the big differences is, in 1860 the world population was about 1.8 billion. Now it is about 6 billion. By the year 2050 it is expected to reach 9 billion.

                This population growth is largely coming from those parts of the world where ancient superstitions say population growth is a good thing. In parts of the world where reality has taken hold, population growth has dropped off. Therefore, human migration, from areas of intense population concentrations to areas of moderate concentration threatens the very continued existance of the planet.