While America had been continuously growing more and more diverse, it was in the 1990s that the nation saw another large wave of immigrants come into the country. Whereas previously America’s immigrants had primarily from Europe, half of the immigrants coming into the country during this time came from Latin America and the Caribbean. The other half consisted of immigrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Only 10% of the immigrants of this time came from Europe. Also, for the first time in history, women made up the majority of the immigrants coming into the country. This reflected the decline of factory jobs that previously attracted so many male immigrant workers to the country as well as the spread of employment opportunities in openings typically filled by females.

Immigration not only changed regarding the countries that immigrants came from, but also regarding the behavior once they moved to the United States. Previously, most immigrants became inhabitants of the more urban areas and cities. However around this time, immigrants rather moved into outer neighborhoods and suburbs.