E.g., 04/19/2024
E.g., 04/19/2024
U.S. Data

U.S. Data

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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Fact Sheets
October 2008
By  Aaron Terrazas
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Reports
October 2008
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michelle Mittelstadt, Mark Mather and Marlene Lee
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Reports
October 2008
By  Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and Peter A. Creticos
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In 2005, 15 percent of all U.S. health-care workers were foreign born. MPI's Esha Clearfield and Jeanne Batalova report.

Latin America and the Caribbean account for the largest percentage of the foreign born in the armed forces. MPI's Laura Barker and Jeanne Batalova report.

The United States' education system has been a major educational destination for foreign students for decades. MPI’s Jeanne Batalova describes the foreign student and exchange visitor population in the United States and highlights recent policy developments affecting them.

Members of the second generation are more likely to finish college than both the foreign born and those who are third generation and higher. David Dixon looks at general social and demographic characteristics of the second generation in the United States.

Over 604,000 immigrants received U.S. citizenship in 2005. MPI's Jeanne Batalova takes a detailed look at the latest naturalization trends in the United States.

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Recent Activity

Articles

The 1.0 million Korean immigrants residing in the United States in 2007 accounted for 2.7 percent of all U.S. immigrants. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the size of the Korean-born unauthorized population.

Reports
January 2009

Drawing on several sources of survey data, this report will examine the major contours of American public opinion toward immigration and immigration policy.

Articles

Contrary to a widely held view, not all immigrants have little education. About one in three immigrants is a person with either a U.S. or foreign college degree.

Articles

In 2006, Department of Homeland Security immigration officials made over 1.2 million apprehensions of immigrants at points of entry along the U.S. border and within the United States. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines the most recent data on immigration enforcement.

Reports
October 2008

This exploratory study provides an unprecedented assessment of the “brain-waste” phenomenon in the United States—a serious waste of human capital resulting from the unemployment or underemployment of highly skilled college-educated immigrants.

Reports
October 2008

This 2008 pocket guide compiled some of the most credible, accessible, and user-friendly government and non-governmental data sources pertaining to U.S. and international migration. The guide includes additional links to relevant organizations, programs, research, and deliverables, along with a glossary of frequently used immigration terms.

Fact Sheets
October 2008

This fact sheet provides a demographic portrait of foreign-born veterans of the U.S. armed forces. By analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey, this fact sheet examines foreign-born veterans' countries of origin, states of residence, and periods of service.

Articles

The 1.6 million Filipino immigrants residing in the United States in 2006 accounted for 4.4 percent of all U.S. immigrants. MPI's Aaron Terrazas examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the size of the Filipino-born unauthorized population.

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