The percentage of the U.S population that is immigrant has reached the highest level in 107 years, with nearly one-in-seven being foreign born, according to new data from the Census Bureau.
An analysis of the data by the Center for Immigration Studies said that there are 44.5 million legal and illegal immigrants in the country, the highest ever in U.S. history, with the most from Latin America.
Nearly 1 in 7 US residents (13.7%) are now immigrants.
By 2027, the immigrant share will reach its highest in US history (14.8%), and continue to rise.https://t.co/mXFG9AGOsc
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) September 14, 2018
“American continues to experience the largest wave of mass immigration in our history. The decline in Mexican immigrants has been entirely offset by immigration from the rest of the world. By 2027, the immigrant share will hit its highest level in U.S. history, and continue to rise,” said Steven Camarota, the Center’s director of research and co-author of the report.
• As a share of the U.S. population, immigrants (legal and illegal) comprised 13.7 percent or nearly one out of seven U.S. residents in 2017, the highest percentage since 1910.
• The number of immigrants hit a record 44.5 million in 2017, an increase of nearly 800,000 since 2016, 4.6 million since 2010, and 13.4 million since 2000.
• There were also 17.1 million U.S.-born minor children of immigrants in 2017, for a total of 61.6 million immigrants and their young children in the country — accounting for one in five U.S. residents
• Between 2010 and 2017, 9.5 million new immigrants settled in the United States. New arrivals are offset by roughly 300,000 immigrants who return home each year and natural mortality of about 300,000 annually. As a result, the immigrant population grew 4.6 million from 2010 to 2017.
• The 9.5 million new arrivals since 2010 roughly equals the entire immigrant population in 1970.
• Of immigrants who have arrived since 2010, 13% or 1.3 million came from Mexico — by far the top sending country. However, because of return migration and natural mortality among the existing population, the overall Mexican-born population actually declined by 441,190.
