What is the main idea of this selection?
U. S. officials had difficult jobs processing crowds of
immigrants who wanted to enter the country.
Families who wanted to immigrate to the United States
had to enter together.
Most of the immigrants to the United States were from
Italy.
Immigrants had to undergo many challenges before
entering the United States.

Immigrants coming ashore, CA. 1920.
Immigrants coming ashore,
ca. 1920.
This new generation of Italian immigrants was distinctly different in makeup from those that had come before. No longer did the immigrant population consist mostly of Northern Italian artisans and shopkeepers seeking a new market in which to ply their trades. Instead, the vast majority were farmers and laborers looking for a steady source of work—any work. There were a significant number of single men among these immigrants, and many came only to stay a short time. Within five years, between 30 and 50 percent of this generation of immigrants would return home to Italy, where they were known as ritornati.