I hear stories about great grand parents who came to America. Most went through Ellis Island, had to get a job or starve, worked hard, learned English and made a success of themselves.
Today they are fed, clothed and given government housing. They don’t have to learn English, separate themselves and are disappointed they are not given more. A lot of these freeloaders have made it harder for legitimate refugees to get sympathy.
Back then, you had to be healthy, have NO physical nor mental health issues, have XXX amount of money with you, be sponsored by a family member or employer, who would not only vouch for you, but agree to TAKE CARE OF YOU, until you were settled and had a job. You couldn't have a criminal records and IIRC, there were a few other requirements as well.
Back then, there were absolutely no government "safety nets"/handouts at all; NONE! You made it or you died; end of story!
They above is why many ethnic groups ( the Germans, Hungarians, Poles, etc. ) set up " social and benevolent" societies, once there was a large enough upper tier group. They paid dues, held many charity dances, dinners, picnics, etc., to raise money to take care of such things as unemployment benefits, sick benefits and health care ( even hospital spaces ), death benefits for widows and orphans, bought large swaths of cemeteries, so that their members could buy plots at a discount, and charity for the newly arrived LEGAL immigrants from where they came from. The women of the ladies' auxilary, used to go into the places where the new immigrants were and taught them about how to BE an American, brought them Thanksgiving and Christmas and baskets filled with American foods, got them into English classes, etc.!
Even when the government started handing out benefits, these organizations lasted into the early 1960s. Partly, it was a way to have great/grand/ and children know some of the dances, music and culture of their ancestors original homelands.