 STUDY SHOWS IMMIGRATION TO CALIFORNIA SLOWING
A study from the University of Southern California shows that immigration to the state actually slowed over the past decade, after three decades of steady increases. According to the study, the immigrant population in California is also stabilizing, with the number of immigrants who have lived in the state for 10 years dramatically increasing. In 2000, 8.3% had been in the state for less than ten years, a significant drop from 1990 when 11.1% had lived in California for less than ten years. In 1990, only 49.1% had lived in the state for at least ten years, while in 2000 66% had. The study projects that by 2020 more than half of the immigrants in the state will have lived there for more than 20 years.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the foreign born population of California increased by 153%. In the 1990s, it increased by only 12%. Demographers estimate that over the next decade, it will increase by only eight percent. The study also contradicts widely held assumptions about immigrants’ use of social services. Whereas in 1990, 19.8% of the immigrant population lived in poverty, in 2000 it was down to 18.2%, and is expected to fall to 16.9% by 2010. In 2000, immigrants accounted for almost one-quarter of California’s population, expected to grow to only 26.4% in the next 20 years. The future projections are based on the current national immigration rate of about one million people a year.
Of course, others have drawn different conclusions from the study. The Federation for American Immigration Reform says the state should be concerned about the demands on resources, such as water and electricity. Other groups say that while the study does show that some immigrants are doing better, there is still a huge gap between them and native-born residents.
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