You should really read "Strangers in the Land", by John Higham. It was written in 1955, before the modern anti-immigrant movement began, but the historical parallels are downright eerie: amazon.com/Strangers-Land…
Read this passage about anti-Catholic paranoia in the 1890s, and tell me it doesn't remind you of Islamophobia today: books.google.com/books?id=UzVhO… 
Anti-Catholic news outlets circulated fake documents claiming that Catholics were going to launch a surprise genocide of non-Catholics:
Higham's book also chronicles the half-hearted restrictionism of some on the left - labor leaders' fear that immigrants depressed wages, progressives' fear that low-skilled immigrants over-burdened the welfare system.
The central lesson of Higham's book is that whenever America is feeling economically militarily confident and socially unified, nativism disappears.
But recessions, geopolitical threats, and domestic political battles cause nativism to erupt.
But recessions, geopolitical threats, and domestic political battles cause nativism to erupt.
And to people who say "But at least the immigrants of that era were white!"...well...sort of. It was more complicated than you think. books.google.com/books?id=UzVhO…
Higham has an interesting concept of the relationship between white supremacism and American nationalism.
He sees white supremacism as an older, deeper tradition, and American nationalism as something that people tried to repurpose for white supremacism.
He sees white supremacism as an older, deeper tradition, and American nationalism as something that people tried to repurpose for white supremacism.
The pseudo-scientific racial thinking of 120 years ago is instantly familiar to anyone who's interacted with the more intellectual alt-right types.
Interesting note: Higham, a mainstream white historian writing in 1955, casually uses the word "terrorism" to describe the actions of the KKK, and "white supremacy" to describe prevailing attitudes in America.
