Jill H. Wilson, Research Analyst

Trends in U.S. Immigration

Public Administration in the Midst of Diversity: Social Equity and Immigration American Society of Public Administrators National Conference

Miami, Florida - March 24, 2009

One-fifth of the world’s migrants are in the US

Source: UN 2005

Other countries

49%

Australia2% Spain

3%

India3%

Canada3%

Saudi Arabia3%

France3%

Germany5%

Russia6%

US20%

UK3%

WORLD IMMIGRANTS: 190,633,564

TOP 10 COUNTRIES: 52% of world’s total

Source: Globalization, Urbanization, and Migration (GUM) project

Nearly half of the world’s metropolitan areas with more than 1M migrants are in the US.

Miami

10.3 13.5 13.9 14.2 11.6 10.3 9.7 9.6 14.1 19.8 38.131.1

13.6%

11.6%

6.9%

5.4%4.7%

6.2%

12.6%

14.7%

11.1%

7.9%

13.2%

8.8%

-

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2007

Pop

ulat

ion

in M

illio

ns

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

Per

cent

of T

otal

Pop

ulat

ion

Population Percent of Population

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Total Foreign Born and Share Foreign Born in the United States, 1900-2007

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Immigration is at an all-time high in the U.S.

Net Immigration,

42.3%Natural

Increase, 57.7%

Components of population change, 2000-2005

Source: Population Estimates, US Census Bureau

Forty-two percent of US population growth comes directly from immigration.

Foreign-born Proportion of US Civilian Labor Force and Total Population, 1970-2007

Immigrant workers are a growing segment of the labor force

12.6

4.86.2

7.9

11.19.3

12.5

15.7

6.75.3

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1970 1980 1990 2000 2007

% of total population

% of labor force

Source: Migration Information Source compilation of Census Bureau data

Source: ACS, 2007

Characteristics of immigrants: employment, poverty, education, language, family type

Foreign NativeUnemployed 3.6 4.1Below poverty level 15.6 12.6

32.026.915.652.463.0

Less than high school 12.4BA or higher 27.5English only at home 90.3Limited English proficient 1.9Married couple family 59.8

Percent of foreign- and native-born by characteristic

Estimated legal status of the foreign born, 2005

Source: Passel, 2006

Unauthorized Migrants

11.1 million30%

Temporary Legal Residents 1.3 million

3%

Naturalized Citizens (former

LPRs) 12.8 million

35%

Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs)

11.8 million32%

Source: Passel, 2006

An estimated 30 percent of immigrants in the US are unauthorized.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2007

Immigrants’ regions of origin have diversified over the last several decades.

1970 2007

Asia9%

Africa1%

Other9%

Other Latin America

11%

Mexico8%

Europe62%

Mexico30%

Other Latin America

23%

Asia27%

Europe13%

Africa4%

Other3%

Place of birth forthe foreign born

1 Mexico 11,7392 Philippines 1,7013 India 1,5024 China 1,3645 El Salvador 1,1046 Vietnam 1,1017 Korea 1,0438 Cuba 9839 Canada 830

10 Dominican Republic 756Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2007

Mexican immigrants dominate; diverse origins round out the top ten countries.

Foreign-born Persons Residing in the U.S., 2007(thousands)

India11% Italy

10%

China6%

Canada6%Other

62% Germany5%

Mexico65%

Other26%

Philippines2%

Guatemala1%

Canada3%

India3%

Mexico17%

Laos9%

India6%

Vietnam5%Ethiopia

4%

Other59%

Pittsburgh

Origin countries vary greatly by metropolitan area.

Phoenix

MinneapolisCuba31%

Colombia7%

Jamaica6%

Nicaragua5%

Other42%

Haiti9%

Miami

ACS2007

Percent Foreign Born

Percent of foreign born who entered since 2000

30 or above

1.09 - 4.54

4.55 - 12.40

12.41 - 15.91

15.92 - 27.24

U.S. = 12.4

Source: ACS, 2006

States with the most recent arrivals have little experience with immigration.

Source: ACS, 2007

New York 5,329Los Angeles 4,489Miami 2,005Chicago 1,679San Francisco 1,245Houston 1,205Dallas 1,092Washington 1,089Riverside 912Phoenix 736

Metropolitan areas with the largest number of immigrants, 2007

Foreign-born population (thousands)by metropolitanarea, 2007

Source: ACS, 2007

Metropolitan areas with the highest proportions of immigrants, 2007

San Jose, CA 37.2Miami, FL 37.0Los Angeles, CA 34.9San Francisco, CA 29.6McAllen, TX 28.5New York, NY 28.3El Paso, TX 26.7Stockton, CA 24.3Oxnard, CA 23.2San Diego, CA 22.7

Percent foreignborn by metropolitanarea, 2007

Source: ACS, 2007

The fastest-growing immigrant destinations are in the Southeast.

Percent growthIn the foreign-born populationby metropolitanarea, 2000-2007

Cape Coral, FL 122Greenville, SC 77Lakeland, FL 75Nashville, TN 74Little Rock, AR 74Knoxville, TN 72Indianapolis, IN 71Las Vegas, NV 65Birmingham, AL 65Orlando, FL 64

Metros in the Southeast are among the fastest-growing immigrant destinations.

34%

38%

41%

41%

52%

48%

47%

44%

10%

9%

9%

9%

5%

5%

4%

5%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

1980

1990

2000

2007

Millions

Primary citiesSuburbsSmall MetrosNon-metros

14.1M

38.1M

31.1M

19.8M

Cities and suburbs are defined for the 100 largest metropolitan areas based on 2007 Population Estimates data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Primary cities are those that are first named in the metropolitan area title in addition to other named cities with at least 100,000 total population in 2007. The remainder of the metropolitan area is defined as suburban. The 261 metro areas that are not among the top 100 are considered small metros. The remainder of the country is non-metropolitan. Data on foreign-born population come from 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses and from the 2007 American Community Survey, U.S. Census B rea

Size and Share of Foreign-Born Population by Location, 1980-2007

A majority of immigrants now reside in the suburbs of large metropolitan areas.

www.brookings.edu/metrov i s i t m e t r o :