U.S. Immigration Update: Who Has Arrived May Surprise You

Looking at immigration

Highlights of immigration trends by government, prominent organizations and think tanks.

 

The U.S. Census, Center for Immigration Studies, MPI Migration Policy Institute, PEW Research Center weighs in with key findings.

Top line findings: Estimates indicate that Asians will make up some 38% of all immigrants, Hispanics 31%, whites 20% and blacks 9%. The U.S. Hispanic population stood at 57 million in 2015 and is among the nation’s fastest growing groups.

Between 2000 and 2014, 18.7 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) settled in the United States. Despite the Great Recession beginning at the end of 2007, and the weak recovery that followed, 7.9 million new immigrants settled in the United States from the beginning of 2008 to mid-2014.

In 2015, 1.38 million foreign-born individuals moved to the United States, a 2 percent increase from 1.36 million in 2014. India was the leading country of origin for recent immigrants, with 179,800 arriving in 2015, followed by 143,200 from China, 139,400 from Mexico, 47,500 from the Philippines, and 46,800 from Canada. In 2013, India and China overtook Mexico as the top origin countries for recent arrivals.

Three studies provide the latest perspectives on immigration:

1.  PEW Research Key findings about U.S. immigrants BY GUSTAVO LÓPEZ AND KRISTEN BIALIK

Who is arriving today?

Among new arrivals, Asians outnumber Hispanics

About 1 million immigrants arrive in the U.S. each year. In 2015, the top country of origin for new immigrants coming into the U.S. was India, with 110,000 people, followed by Mexico (109,000), China (90,000) and Canada (35,000).

By race and ethnicity, more Asian immigrants than Hispanic immigrants have arrived in the U.S. each year since 2010. Immigration from Latin America slowed following the Great Recession, particularly from Mexico, which has seen net losses in U.S. immigration over the past few years.

Asians are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the U.S. by 2055, surpassing Hispanics. In 2065, Pew Research Center estimates indicate that Asians will make up some 38% of all immigrants, Hispanics 31%, whites 20% and blacks 9%.

The U.S. Hispanic population stood at 57 million in 2015 and is among the nation’s fastest growing groups. It is also a largely U.S.-born population – 66% were born here. Among Hispanics who were born in another country, roughly three-in-ten are lawful permanent residents and about four-in-ten are unauthorized immigrants. (Unauthorized immigrants from Latin America make up 78% of all unauthorized immigrants as well.) At the same time, the group’s population growth has slowed in recent years and is now driven more by births in the U.S. than the arrival of new immigrants, driving down the group’s foreign-born share in recent years.

2.  Center for Immigration Studies,  Immigrants in the United States, 2016 By Steven A. Camarota  October 2016

Data from the Census Bureau shows that 42.4 million immigrants (both legal and illegal) now live in the United States. This Backgrounder provides a detailed picture of immigrants, also referred to as the foreign-born, living in the United States by country of birth and state. It also examines the progress immigrants make over time. All figures are for both legal and illegal immigrants who responded to Census Bureau surveys.

Among the report’s findings:

Population Size and Growth 

  • The nation’s 42.4 million immigrants (legal and illegal) in 2014 is the highest number ever in American history. The 13.3 percent of the nation’s population comprised of immigrants in 2014 is the highest percentage in 94 years.
  • Between 2000 and 2014, 18.7 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) settled in the United States. Despite the Great Recession beginning at the end of 2007, and the weak recovery that followed, 7.9 million new immigrants settled in the United States from the beginning of 2008 to mid-2014.
  • From 2010 to 2014, new immigration (legal and illegal) plus births to immigrants added 8.3 million residents to the country, equal to 87 percent of total U.S. population growth.
  • The sending countries with the largest percentage increases in immigrants living in the United States from 2010 to 2014 were Saudi Arabia (up 93 percent), Bangladesh (up 37 percent), Iraq (up 36 percent), Egypt (up 25 percent), and Pakistan, India, and Ethiopia (each up 24 percent).
  • States with the largest percentage increases in the number of immigrants from 2010 to 2014 were North Dakota (up 45 percent), Wyoming (up 42 percent), Montana (up 19 percent), Kentucky (up 15 percent), New Hampshire (up 14 percent), and Minnesota and West Virginia (both up 13 percent).

Labor and Employment 

  • Rates of work for immigrants and natives tend to be similar — 70 percent of both immigrants and natives (ages 18 to 65) held a job in March 2015.
  • Immigrant men have higher rates of work than native-born men — 82 percent vs. 73 percent. However, immigrant women have lower rates of work than native-born women — 57 percent vs. 66 percent.
  • A large share of immigrants have low levels of formal education. Of adult immigrants (ages 25 to 65), 28 percent have not completed high school, compared to 8 percent of natives. The share of immigrants (25 to 65) with at least a bachelor’s degree is only slightly lower than natives — 30 percent vs. 32 percent.
  • Because many immigrants have modest levels of education, they have significantly increased the share of some types of workers relative to others.
  • In 2014, 49 percent of maids, 47 percent of taxi drivers and chauffeurs, 33 percent of butchers and meat processors, and 35 percent of construction laborers were foreign-born.
  • While the above occupations are often thought of as overwhelmingly comprised of immigrants, most of the workers in these jobs are U.S.-born.
  • Workers in other occupations face relatively little competition from immigrants. In 2014, 5 percent of English language journalists, 6 percent of farmers and ranchers, and 7 percent of lawyers were immigrants.
  • At the same time immigration has added to the number of less-educated workers, the share of young less-educated natives holding a job declined significantly. In 2000, 66 percent of natives under age 30 with no education beyond high school were working; in 2015 it was 53 percent.

Next- Entrepreneurship , Socioeconomic Status, Immigrant Progress Over Time…more

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