Immigration in Argentina, from that time on, can be divided in several major stages:

• Spanish colonization starting in the 16th century, integrating the indigenous inhabitants (see Population history of American indigenous peoples).
• European immigration in the 19th century, focused on colonization and sponsored by the government (sometimes on lands "freed" of the native inhabitants by the Conquest of the Desert in the last quarter of the century).
• The forced introduction of blacks brought from Africa to work as slaves in the colony between the 17th and 19th centuries.
• Mostly urban immigration during the era of rapid growth in the late 19th century (from 1880 onwards) and the first half of the 20th century, before and after World War I and also after the Spanish Civil War.
• Economic migrants from Korea, China, Latin America and from Eastern Europe in the late 20th century and early 21st century.

Support and control of immigration

Since its unification as a country and before, Argentine rulers intended the country to welcome productive immigration, albeit selectively. Article 25 of the 1853 Constitution reads:

The Federal Government will encourage European immigration, and it will not restrict, limit or burden with any taxes the entrance into Argentine territory of foreigners who come with the goal of working the land, improving the industries and teach the sciences and the arts.

The Preamble of the Constitution, more generously, dictates a number of goals (justice, peace, defense, welfare and liberty) that apply "to all men in the world who wish to dwell on Argentine soil". The Constitution incorporates, along with other influences, the thought of Juan Bautista Alberdi, who expressed his opinion on the matter in succinct terms: "to rule is to populate".

The legal and organizational precedents of today's National Migrations Office (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones) can be found in 1825, when Rivadavia created an Immigration Commission. After the Commission was dissolved, the government of Rosas continued to allow immigration. Urquiza, under whose sponsorship the Constitution was drawn, encouraged the establishment of agricultural colonies in the Littoral (western Mesopotamia and north-eastern Pampas).

The first law dealing with immigration policies was Law 817 of Immigration and Colonization, of 1876. The General Immigration Office was created in 1898, together with an Immigrants' Hotel and an Immigrants' Hospital, in Buenos Aires.

The liberal rulers of the late 19th century saw immigration as the possibility of bringing people from supposedly more civilized, enlightened countries into a sparsely populated land, thus diminishing the influence of aboriginal elements and turning Argentina into a modern society with a dynamic economy. However, immigrants did not only bring their knowledge and skills. In 1902, a Law of Residence (Ley de Residencia) was passed, mandating the expulsion of foreigners who "compromise national security or disturb public order", and in 1910 a Law of Social Defense (Ley de Defensa Social) explicitly named ideologies deemed to have such effects. These laws were a reaction by the ruling elite against imported ideas such as labor unionism, anarchism and other forms of popular organization.

The modern National Migrations Office was created by decree on February 4, 1949 under the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency, in order to deal with the new post-war immigration scenario. New regulations were added to the Office by Law 22439 of 1981 and a decree of 1994.

Features of immigration

The majority of immigrants, since the 19th century, came from Europe, mostly from Spain and Italy. Also notable were Jewish immigrants escaping persecution. The total population of Argentina rose from 4 million in 1895 to 7.9 million in 1914, and to 15.8 million in 1947; during this time the country was settled by 1.5 million Spaniards and 1.4 million Italians, as well as Poles, Russians, French (more than 100,000 each), Germans and Austrians (also more than 100,000), Portuguese, Greek, Ukrainians, Yugoslavians, Czechs, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English, Dutch, Scandinavians, and people from other European and Middle Eastern countries. Argentine immigration records includes those from Australia and North America (the USA).

Most immigrants arrived through the port of Buenos Aires and stayed in the capital or within Buenos Aires Province, as it still happens today. In 1895, immigrants accounted for 52% of the population in the Capital, and 31% in the province of Buenos Aires (some provinces of the littoral, such as Santa Fe, had about 40%, and the Patagonian provinces about 50%). In 1914, before World War I caused many European immigrants to return to their homeland in order to join the respective armies, the overall rate of foreign-born population reached its peak, almost 30%.

A significant number of immigrants settled in the countryside in the interior of the country, especially the littoral provinces, creating agricultural colonies. These included many Jews, fleeing pogroms in Europe and sponsored by Maurice de Hirsch's Jewish Colonization Association; they were later termed "Jewish gauchos". The first such Jewish colony was Moïseville (now the village of Moisés Ville). Through most of the 20th century Argentina held one of the largest Jewish communities (near 500,000) after the USA, France, Israel and Russia, and by far the largest in Latin America (see History of the Jews in Argentina). The Welsh settlement of Argentina, whilst not as large as those from other countries, was nevertheless one of the largest in the planet, and had an important cultural influence on the Patagonian Chubut Province. Other nationalities have also settled in particular areas of the country, such as Irish in Formosa and the Mesopotamia region, the Ukrainians in Misiones where they constitute approximately 9% of the population. Well-known and culturally strong are the German-speaking communities such as those of German-descendants themselves (both those from Germany itself, and those ethnic Germans from other parts of Europe, such as Volga Germans), Austrian, and Swiss ones. Strong German-descendant populations can be found in the Mesopotamia region (especially Entre Ríos and Misiones provinces), many neighborhoods in Buenos Aires city (such as Belgrano or Palermo), the Buenos Aires Province itself (strong German settlement in Coronel Suárez, Tornquist and other areas), Córdoba (the Oktoberfest celebration in Villa General Belgrano is specially famous) and all along the Patagonian region, including important cities such as San Carlos de Bariloche (an important tourist spot near the Andes mountain chain, which was especially influenced by German settlements).

Other nationalities, such as Spaniards, although having specific localities (e.g. the centre of Buenos Aires) are more uniformly present all around the country and form the general background of Argentine population today.

Legacy of immigration

Argentine popular culture, especially in the Río de la Plata basin, was heavily marked by Italian and Spanish immigration.

Post-independence national politics tried to steer Argentina consistently away from identification with monarchical Spain, perceived as backward and ultraconservative, towards progressive models like France or the United States. Millions of poor peasants from the province of Galicia in Northern Spain, who arrived through immigration, did little to alter this negative view.

Italian influence is more visible. Lunfardo, the jargon enshrined in tango lyrics, is laden with Italianisms, often also found in the mainstream colloquial dialect (Rioplatense Spanish). Common dishes in the central area of the country (milanesa, fainá, polenta, pascualina) have Italian names and origins.

Immigrant communities have given Buenos Aires some of its most famous landmarks, such as the Monumento de los Españoles (Monument of the Spaniards). Ukrainians, Armenians, Swiss and many others built monuments and churches at popular spots throughout the capital.

Argentina celebrates Immigrant's Day on September 4 since 1949, by a decree of the Executive Branch. The National Immigrant's Festival is celebrated in Oberá, Misiones, during the first fortnight of September, since 1980. There are other celebrations of ethnic diversity throughout the country, such as the National Meeting and Festival of the Communities in Rosario (typically at the beginning of November). Many cities and towns in Argentina also feature monuments and memorials dedicated to immigration. There are also Immigrant's Festivals (or Collectivities Festivals) throughout the country, for example: Bariloche, Berisso, Esperanza, Venado Tuerto, and Comodoro Rivadavia have their own Immigrant's festivals. These festivals tend to be local, and they are not advertised or promoted nationally like the festivals in Rosario and Oberá

Legal and undocumented immigration in recent times

Besides substantial immigration from neighboring countries, during the middle and late 1990s Argentina received significant numbers of people from Asian countries such as Korea (both North and South), China and Vietnam, which joined the previously existing Sino-Japanese communities in Buenos Aires. Despite the economic and financial crisis Argentina suffered at the turn of the millennium, people from all over the world continued arriving to the country, because of their immigration-friendly policy and other reasons.

According to official data, between 1992 and 2003 an average 13,187 people per year immigrated legally in Argentina. The government calculates that 504,000 people entered the country during the same period, giving about 345,000 undocumented immigrants. The same source gives a plausible total figure of 750,000 undocumented immigrants currently residing in Argentina.

In April 2006, the national government started the Patria Grande plan to regularize the migratory situation of illegal aliens. The plan attempts to ease the bureaucratic process of getting documentation and residence papers, and is aimed at citizens of Mercosur countries and its associated states (Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela). The plan came after a scandal and a wave of indignation caused by fire in a Buenos Aires sweatshop, which revealed the widespread utilization of undocumented Bolivian immigrants as cheap labor force in inhumane conditions, under a regime of virtual debt slavery.

Nearly a million permanent residency applications were filed from 2000 to 2008, and their country of origin was as follows:

Place	Country	Applications
1		319,492
2		240,467
3		138,355
4		34,746
5		24,626
6		22,733
7		19,547
8		16,539
9		10,279
10		10,072
11		7,434
12		7,164
13		6,791
14		6,564
15		6,093
16		5,890
17		4,618
18		4,392
19		4,249
20		3,699
	Other countries	36,387
TOTAL		953,368

Country of birth of Argentine residents

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina 1,531,940 of the Argentine resident population were born outside Argentina, representing 4.22% of the total Argentine resident population.

Place	Country	2001	1991	1980
1		325,046	254,115	262,799
2		233,464	145,670	118,141
3		216,718	356,923	488,271
4		212,429	247,987	215,623
5		134,417	244,212	373,984
6		117,564	135,406	114,108
7		88,260	15,939	8,561
8		34,712	33,966	42,757
9		13,703	28,811	57,480
10		10,552	9,755	N/D
11		10,362	15,451	24,381
12		9,340	13,229	N/D
13		8,237	3,498	N/D
14		8,290	8,371	N/D
15		6,578	6,309	N/D
16		4,753	5,674	N/D
17		4,184	2,297	N/D
18		4,083	824	N/D
19		3,876	2,638	N/D
20		3,511	1,870	N/D
21		3,323	2,277	N/D
22		3,210	12,851	N/D
23		2,774	1,934	N/D
24		2,457	1,393	N/D
25		2,418	2,334	N/D
26		2,350	N/D	N/D
27		2,321	3,625	N/D
28		2,221	4,155	N/D
29		2,196	N/D	N/D
30		2,127	N/D	N/D
31		2,125	975	N/D
32		1,852	2,123	N/D
33		1,762	N/D	N/D
34		1,744	N/D	N/D
35		1,619	3,171	N/D
36		1,562	3,852	N/D
37		1,497	N/D	N/D
38		1,381	2,439	N/D
30		1,263	777	N/D
40		1,253	1,431	N/D
41		1,227	1,022	N/D
42		1,217	1,124	N/D
	Other countries	41,962	50,559	197,054
TOTAL		1,531,940	1,628,210	1,903,159

See also

• History of Argentina
• English settlement in Argentina
• Demographics of Argentina
• Asian-Argentines
• History of the Jews in Argentina
• Jewish gauchos
• Bulgarians in South America
• Arab Argentine

References

1. Población extranjera empadronada en el país por lugar de nacimiento INDEC
2. Wasylyk, Mykola (1994). Ukrainians in Argentina (Chapter), in Ukraine and Ukrainians Throughout the World, edited by Ann Lencyk Pawliczko, University of Toronto Press: Toronto, pp. 420–443
3. Pagina/12
4. Tendencias recientes de la inmigración internacional INDEC
5. Investigación de la Migración Internacional en Latinoamérica (IMILA) Centro Latinoamericano y Caribeño de Demografía (CELADE). Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
6. Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2001 INDEC.

In Spanish unless otherwise noted.

• CasaHistoria — European immigration to Argentina.
• Immigrant's Day – on the Ministry of Education website.
• Conformación de la Población Argentina
• Bajaron de los barcos ("They came down from the ships") – Figures, timeline and other details of Argentine immigration.
• Patria Grande, National Program of Migratory Documentary Normalization.
• Obera and the National Inmigrant Festival, News and video about this event.
• La Nación, 17 April 2006. Más de 10 mil inmigrantes iniciaron trámites de regularización.
• "Inmigración a la Argentina (1850-1950)" – monografias.com
• Recent efforts among US immigrants to Argentina at mutual aid, 2009 (English)