E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
U.S. Data

U.S. Data

U.S. Immigrant Population Spotlights
Immigration_History

More than 43 million people living in the United States—whether as naturalized citizen, legal permanent resident, temporary resident, or unauthorized immigrant—were born in another country, representing 13 percent of the U.S. population. Immigration has ebbed and flowed throughout U.S. history, peaking at nearly 15 percent of the population in 1890 and plummeting to 5 percent in 1970. The data-rich research offered here traces the U.S. immigrant population by size, educational and workforce characteristics, English language proficiency, and more.

For information on U.S. immigrants by state, check out the State Immigration Data Profiles tool. And for detailed profiles on unauthorized immigrants nationally and by state, visit this tool.

Recent Activity

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Reports
October 2014
Deportation and Discretion: Reviewing the Record and Options for Change
By  Marc R. Rosenblum and Kristen McCabe
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Articles
October 9, 2014
Mexican Immigrants in the United States
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova
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Reports
September 2014
Diploma, Please: Promoting Educational Attainment for DACA- and Potential DREAM Act-Eligible Youth
By  Margie McHugh
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Articles
September 15, 2014
Canadian Immigrants in the United States
By Jie Zong, Hataipreuk Rkasnuam, and Jeanne Batalova
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Policy Briefs
September 2014
Executive Action for Unauthorized Immigrants: Estimates of the Populations that Could Receive Relief
By  Randy Capps and Marc R. Rosenblum
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Articles
August 25, 2014
Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States
By Hataipreuk Rkasnuam and Jeanne Batalova
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Reports
August 2014
DACA at the Two-Year Mark: A National and State Profile of Youth Eligible and Applying for Deferred Action
By  Jeanne Batalova, Sarah Hooker and Randy Capps
Fact Sheets
July 2014
Select Diaspora Populations in the United States

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Spotlight
August 21, 2013
Indian Immigrants in the United States

In 2011, India was the third largest country of origin for immigrants in the United States, after Mexico and China. The close to 1.9 million Indian immigrants in the United States accounted for almost 5 percent of the country’s total foreign-born population of 40.4 million. This article examines the latest data on Indian immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

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Spotlight
July 25, 2013
Limited English Proficient Population of the United States in 2011

In 2011, there were 25.3 million Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals residing in the United States, or roughly 9 percent of the nation's population ages 5 and older. Although most LEP individuals were foreign born, nearly one-fifth of this population was native born, about three-quarters of whom were children ages 5 to 17. This article provides a demographic and socioeconomic profile of LEP individuals residing in the United States, including the population's size, geographic distribution, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

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Spotlight
June 5, 2013
Filipino Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from the Philippines made up 4.5 percent of the 40.4 million immigrants in the United States in 2011. Although this population—1.8 million strong in 2011—has grown 17 times its size since 1960, its share among Asian immigrants overall has decreased since that year. This article examines the latest data on Filipino immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

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Spotlight
May 2, 2013
South American Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from South America made up 2.7 million (about 7 percent) of the United States' foreign-born population of 40.4 million in 2011. While the share may seem small, this population has grown 30 times its size since 1960, when about 90,000 South American immigrants resided in the country. This article examines the latest data on South American immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

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Profile
April 16, 2013
Immigration in the United States: New Economic, Social, Political Landscapes with Legislative Reform on the Horizon

Immigration has contributed to many of the economic, social, and political processes that are foundational to the United States as a nation since the first newcomers arrived over 400 years ago. After brushes with immigration reform that began in 2001 and continued in 2006 and 2007, the United States seems to be on the threshold of overhauling the legal immigration system in the most substantive way since 1965. This article provides a comprehensive overview of major legislation and events affecting U.S. immigration throughout history, legal and illegal immigration flows, postrecession immigration trends, and more.

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Recent Activity

Articles
February 28, 2013

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Over the past five decades, Mexicans have constituted the single largest group of immigrants to the United States originating from Latin America. In 2011, 11.7 million Mexican immigrants resided in the United States, representing 29 percent of the U.S. immigrant population and close to 4 percent of the overall U.S. population. This article examines the latest data on Mexican immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Articles
April 28, 2014

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

The U.S. immigrant population—estimated at 40.8 million in 2012 — is the nation’s historical numerical high, and it is also the largest foreign-born population in the world. About 20 percent of all international migrants reside in the United States, even as the country accounts for less than 5 percent of global population. This article presents the latest, most sought-after data on immigrants in the United States—by origin, residence, legal status, deportations, languages spoken, and more—in one easy-to-use resource.

Reports
January 2013

A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas: Changing Workforce and Family Demographics

This report, Volume 1 of a three-volume set commissioned by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation that examines the immigrant population in Arkansas, provides a demographic and socioeconomic profile of Arkansas immigrants and their children, including a description of immigrant workers in the Arkansas economy. The three volumes build upon a previous study of the Arkansas immigrant population that was published in 2007.
Articles
December 27, 2012

College-Educated Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants accounted for 16 percent of the 58.8 million college-educated persons in the United States in 2011, with one in three immigrants holding a college degree. In this spotlight, MPI's Qingqing Ji and Jeanne Batalova provide a demographic and socioeconomic profile of college-educated natives and immigrants in the country.

Articles
November 28, 2012

Temporary Admissions of Nonimmigrants to the United States

There were more than 53 million nonimmigrant (temporary) admissions to the United States in 2011. MPI's Qingqing Ji and Jeanne Batalova outline the definition of nonimmigrants and take a detailed look at admissions data and data limitations in this spotlight.

Articles
October 24, 2012

Green Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States

In 2011, more than 1 million people were granted lawful permanent resident status in the United States. Nearly two-thirds of new LPRs were immigrants with family ties in the United States, report MPI's Joseph Russell and Jeanne Batalova in this updated look at the latest statistics on legal immigration.

Articles
September 27, 2012

Refugees and Asylees in the United States

In 2011, the United States granted humanitarian protection to nearly 81,000 immigrants, including some 56,000 refugees and 25,000 asylum seekers. This article takes a detailed look at the most recent refugee and asylum data in the United States – finding that asylum grants in 2011 reversed a downward trend observed since 2007.

Video, Audio
August 7, 2012

The New Deferred Action Program: Strategies for Success

Join MPI as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas discusses the application process and policies that the agency has announced to implement the administration’s deferred action program.

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