The United States is primary a country of immigration. Every US citizen is descended from somewhere. Consider this tab;e, which shows the breakdown of the US population by origin.
| Origin | Percentage |
| Native American | 1.6 |
| Irish | 9.7 |
| British | 62 |
| German | 16 |
| Italian | 6 |
| Mexican | 11.3 |
| Chinese | 1.5 |
| African | 12 |
These percentages add up to more than 100. This because the offspring of parents of different ethnicities nay claim to be descended from both races.