How did the immigrants, rising in number after the 1880s, differ in ethnic background and economic status from most of the earlier immigrants?

The largest immigrant groups of the late 1800s were the Irish and the Italians. Before, the largest immigrant groups had been the Germans, the Scots-Irish (People who lived in Northern Ireland but were of Scottish descent), and the English.

This wave of Italian and Irish immigration changed American culture, especially in the Northeast. Cities like New York and Boston became a hotbed of Irish and Italian culture. Catholicism became the majority religion in many areas and protestants of Anglo Saxon origin (WASPs) did not always had a positive view of this change.

Criminality also rose with the emergence of irish gangs, and specially, the italian mafia, which was imported from Southern Italy and took hold of criminal activities in many American cities.

The Irish and the Italians faced discrimination and negative stereotyping. The Irish for example, were seen as brute and drunks, and the Italians were not considered white by many people.