they don't all hop a fence

In the last decade the number of immigrants opting to become naturalized American citizens had increased to historic values. In the 2005 census it was found that the number of naturalized citizens is the U.S is a record 12.8 million. This number makes up 52 percent of legal immigrants in the U.S. Also, for the first time, European immigrants were not the largest group that chose to become citizens, instead immigrnats from Latin America and Asia have become the largest group choosing to become citizens. The number of naturalized citizens has grown by 73 percent, in addition to the number of legal immigrants which rose by 30 percent.
The U.S has seen several time periods where the number of legal immigrants in the nation spiked, most notably in the late 19 and early 20th centuries. Immigrants poured into the nation from all over the world giving the U.S a reputation as a "melting pot". Though an immigration system as we know it today was not yet established, the majority of immigrants were entering the country legally by those day's standards.