E.g., 04/19/2024
E.g., 04/19/2024
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

Articles
November 1, 2004
U.S. Immigration Statistics in 2003
By Deborah Meyers, Jennifer Yau
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Fact Sheets
October 2004
Legal Immigration to U.S. Still Declining
By  Deborah W. Meyers
Articles
October 1, 2004
The Foreign Born from the Dominican Republic in the United States in 2000
By Elizabeth Grieco
cover DominicanPopulation
Reports
September 2004
The Dominican Population in the United States: Growth and Distribution
By  Elizabeth Grieco
Articles
September 1, 2004
The African Foreign Born in the United States in 2002
By Elizabeth Grieco
Articles
August 1, 2004
The Foreign Born from Canada in the United States in 2000
By Betsy Cooper, Elizabeth Grieco
Articles
July 1, 2004
Educational Attainment of the Foreign Born in the United States in 2000
By Elizabeth Grieco
Articles
June 1, 2004
The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program
By Erin Patrick

Pages

Spotlight
August 1, 2003
African-born Residents of the United States in 2000

MPI’s Jill Wilson provides an in-depth look at the United States’ population of people born in Africa.

Spotlight
June 1, 2003
Remittances from the United States in Context
MPI Research Assistant Kevin O'Neil outlines key aspects of remittances from the United States.
Spotlight
May 1, 2003
Family Reunification
MPI’s Ramah McKay examines the family reunification program, which accounts for approximately two-thirds of permanent immigration to the U.S. each year.
Spotlight
April 1, 2003
'Special Registration' Program
MPI Research Assistants Maia Jachimowicz and Ramah McKay outline the government's "Special Registration" program, which is designed to register foreign visitors from certain designated countries who are already in the United States.
Spotlight
April 1, 2003
Iraqi Immigrants in the United States
With the war in Iraq intensifying, the media has focused on the Iraqi foreign born in the United States. To ensure the accuracy of public debate, MPI Data Manager Elizabeth Grieco uses U.S. Census Bureau statistics to describe the size of the Iraqi immigrant population.

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Recent Activity

Reports
November 2004

Putting Data to Work For Immigrants and Communities: Tools for the Washington, DC Metro Area and Beyond

This report investigates and addresses gaps in the data needs of immigrant service and advocacy organizations by surveying the most commonly used migration data sources in the field, discussing budget-conscious ways to commission customized analysis through government and private sources, and identifying good providers of training for staff. 

Articles
October 1, 2004

The Foreign Born from the Dominican Republic in the United States in 2000

Elizabeth Grieco takes a detailed look at the foreign born from the Dominican Republic in the United States.

Fact Sheets
October 2004

Legal Immigration to U.S. Still Declining

This fact sheet is an overview of U.S. immigration based on Fiscal Year 2003 data from the 2003 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, which was released in mid-September 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics.

Articles
September 1, 2004

The African Foreign Born in the United States in 2002

MPI Senior Demographer Elizabeth Grieco takes a detailed look at the population of African foreign born in the United States.

Reports
September 2004

The Dominican Population in the United States: Growth and Distribution

This study provides an overview of the size and growth of the Dominican population in the United States and discusses some of the unique characteristics of this community. The report also highlights the geographic distribution of Dominicans within the United States.

Articles
August 1, 2004

The Foreign Born from Canada in the United States in 2000

MPI's Betsy Cooper and Senior Demographer Elizabeth Grieco map out the characteristics of Canadians in the United States.

Articles
July 1, 2004

Educational Attainment of the Foreign Born in the United States in 2000

This Spotlight examines the educational attainment of the five largest immigrant groups in the United States, including those from Mexico, the Philippines, India, China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan), and Vietnam. According to the results of Census 2000, 62 percent of all foreign born in the United States have at least a high school education. Other measures of educational attainment, such as college or graduate degrees, vary widely by country of origin. The data presented in this Spotlight were derived from the U.S. Census 2000 1 Percent Public Use Micro-Sample (PUMS) file.

Articles
June 1, 2004

The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program

MPI Associate Policy Analyst Erin Patrick provides the latest figures on the U.S. refugee resettlement program, which is still operating well below traditional levels long after being thrown into crisis by the Sept. 11 attacks.

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