Anti-immigrant sentiment predates the establishment of the United States and has waxed and waned ever since. Such fears have often emanated from cultural differences; in the 1800s and well into the 1900s, many native-born American Protestants believed that Irish Catholics—and, slightly later, other predominantly Catholic groups, such as Italians—were incapable of democracy because of loyalty to the Pope. Today, similar attacks are often levied at immigrants from Arab and/or Muslim countries.

Anti-immigrant sentiment has also come from perceived competition over jobs. In the late 1800s, nativists believed that Chinese immigrants were undercutting U.S.-born workers, leading to violence and exclusionary legislation. As with later nativist movements, the leaders of this movement were themselves immigrants, such as American Federation of Labor leader Samuel Gompers, or people whose recent ancestors had also faced discrimination. In recent decades, similar sentiments have been directed at Hispanic and Latino immigrants, despite immigration serving as an economic spur.