Signed into law by LBJ in 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, ended the use of national-origin quotas, under which immigrants were chosen on the basis of race and ancestry, and changed the face of the nation and of Texas. Before this, immigration to the U.S. was largely restricted to Western Europeans. In 1960, seven of eight immigrants were white people from Europe. By 2010, nine out of 10 newcomers were immigrants of color from outside Europe. This increasing diversity of nationalities and cultures has also been accompanied by an increase in religious diversity.

These shifting demographics have shaped Texas. Now, as a state of over 28 million people, Texas is a multicultural and multireligious mosaic: a top destination for new immigrants, a majority-minority state since 2004, and home to the most ethnically diverse city in the nation, Houston. Texas has the largest number of evangelical Protestants in the nation as well as one of the largest Muslim populations and the second largest Hindu population in the US. The Gone to Texas project seeks to better understand and preserve the memories, voices, experiences, and perspectives of immigrants to Texas and their children from the late 20th century through the present.