In the years leading up to the Immigration Act of 1924, the U.S. set general immigration quotas for foreign-born persons of each nationality that resided in the country. Through the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the government restricted immigration to 3 percent of the population as of 1910.

Refers to a region of Central America that includes Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—all countries with high rates of violent crime that drive high rates of emigration. Though migrants from these countries make up less than 10 percent of those who seek asylum in the U.S., they have sometimes drawn wide attention by traveling in large groups, or “caravans,” for safety.