MIGRATION AND BUSINESS CYCLES 
their minds and leave after a short stay, or that many alien residents 
upon leaving declare an intention of only a temporary sojourn 
abroad but do not return to this country as they had intended. 
Variations in Comprehensiveness. 
In addition to the above distinctions among citizens, immigrant 
aliens, and nonimmigrant aliens, it is necessary to note that the 
official statistics of immigration have not always been equally 
comprehensive and do not have exactly the same connotation 
throughout the period of a little more than a century for which 
they are available. The footnotes to the tables contain much of 
the detail concerning the varying comprehensiveness. For example, 
the data which are officially published for the annual totals of im- 
migration® cover, prior to the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1867, all 
recorded arrivals of aliens, without discrimination as to length of 
intended residence; for the period ending June 30, 1903, they cover 
immigrants as differentiated from nonimmigrants; for the next 
three years, “aliens admitted” (though apparently this does not 
actually include nonimmigrants); and for subsequent years, only 
immigrants admitted. In brief, to make the data strictly com- 
parable throughout the entire period, it would be necessary to make 
allowance for the inclusion or non-inclusion of, first, nonimmigrants, 
or those with announced intention of temporary residence only; 
and second, would-be immigrants debarred from entry. 
Also, there are variances due to the circumstance that in the 
early period there was no attempt made to record residents of ad- 
joining countries, Mexico and Canada, as they passed over our 
boundaries. In fact, the early records of the number of Europeans 
entering the United States via Canada are quite imperfect. For 
the period from July, 1885, to October, 1893, the statistics en- 
¢irely omit such arrivals through Canada. Subsequent to October, 
1893, the records include foreigners arriving at Canadian ports en 
route to this country, and more recently, they also include residents 
of Canada and Mexico who pass our boundary lines for a stay of 
six months or longer, although they are not counted as immigrants 
unless a stay of a year or more is intended. 
The above-mentioned discrepancies in the official statistics of 
immigration, while significant for some purposes, are not important 
enough when we are primarily interested in cyclical fluctuations to 
Tol el States Immigration Commission, Statistical Review of Immigration: 1820- 
, Pp. 4. 
39