How do American attitudes toward immigration create a contradictory pattern throughout history?

American immigration attitudes follow a cyclical pattern of nostalgia versus anxiety. While America takes pride in being "a nation of immigrants," there's a consistent tendency to romanticize past waves of immigrants while simultaneously fearing and rejecting current arrivals. This century has been dominated by a "hype cycle" claiming immigration is dangerous and out of control, particularly fueled by growing nativist sentiment within the Republican Party. The irony lies in America's core identity being built on immigration, yet each generation views contemporary immigrants as threatening to the nation's unique character, despite this being the same concern expressed about previous immigrant groups throughout history.