This week the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonpartisan organization that supports reduced levels of immigration, issued a report based on the newest data from the Census Bureau showing that immigration to the US continues to be strong, even after the terrorist attacks and their impact on the economy.
The report uses information gathered in the Current Population Survey in March 2002. CPS’s generally ask for more detailed information than the decennial census, and is therefore an excellent source of information about people living in the US. One of the most important findings of the report is that since January 2000, more that 3.3 million immigrants, both legal and undocumented, have entered the US, bringing the total foreign born population of the US to about 33 million.
About one-third, or just over one million, of these new arrivals are from Mexico. The second leading country is India, with almost 250,000 new arrivals. As expected, immigrants continued to move to states that have traditionally seen high levels of immigrants: California, New York, Florida, Texas and New Jersey, but all states have seen an increase in the number of immigrants living there since 2000. New arrivals accounted to more than half of the population growth over the past two years.
The report shows that the number of immigrants who lack a high school education continues to grow, with nearly 35 percent of those who entered after 1990 having not completed high school. Before 1970, less than 20 percent of immigrants had not completed high school. Also, the number of immigrants with graduate or professional degrees has declined. Before 1970, about 15 percent of immigrants had more than a bachelor’s degree; since 1990, the number is about 10 percent. However, this is a higher percentage than native born Americans with post-college education, which is under 10 percent.
The large number of immigrants with poor educational backgrounds has a significant impact on their earning abilities. Among native born Americans, the average annual wage is $31,000. Among immigrants it is $24,000. More disturbing is that for those who have immigrated in each decade since the 1970s, the average annual wage has fallen. For those who arrived before 1970, it is $33,000. For those who arrived since 1990, it is $20,000. Not surprisingly, a higher percentage of immigrant families live in poverty than do the native born – 16 percent compared to 11 percent. Children born to immigrant mothers are much more likely to live in poverty than those born to native born citizens of the US – 23 percent compared to 15 percent. Immigrant households are also more likely to use public benefits, with nearly a quarter of them using a welfare program, compared to 16 percent among the native born.
Among the other findings of the report is that most of the growth in the number of people lacking health insurance is due to immigration since 1990. Immigrants arriving since 1990 account for 77 percent of the increase in the uninsured, and when children of immigrants who lack health insurance are factored in, this group accounts for 95 percent of the increase.
The full report is available online at http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/back1302.html.
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