History of migration

For many people crossing the ocean to start a new life, the first view of the United States was Ellis Island, a small island near the Statue of Liberty. Many newcomers were held there before officials allowed them to enter the country. Every person who stepped off a ship there had decided, or been forced, to leave home and travel to a place they had never lived.

That decision sits at the heart of this topic. Studying migration means asking why people move, what pulls them towards one place, and what stops some of them from getting there. Some moves are freely chosen. Others happen because staying would put a life in danger. Both kinds have shaped the history of whole countries, and both are still happening today.