US
IMMIGRATION & DEMOGRAPHICS
Derek Hommel
Daniel Cho
Introduction
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The United States is the third most populous country
after China and India
US population more than tripled from 1900 to 2000,
from 76 million to 281 million
California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey are responsible for half
of this century’s population gain
Since 1900, there has been a steady shift in
population westward and southward
The west has expanded in population the most of
any sector of the US
Introduction
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Immigration in the US:
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8.7% of the population is foreign-born compared to 16% in
Canada and 3.9% in Great Britain
The “melting pot” is a myth: Hispanics and Asians especially
congregate in ‘gateway cities’ after entering the country
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Los Angeles is home to 1/5 of the US Hispanic population
Asian Indian population has doubled in the last ten years, most
likely due to technology job positions
The Horatio Alger ideal of entrepreneurial endeavors is
embraced by immigrants: they are more likely to be selfemployed than natives
Recent Immigration Policy
Recent Immigration Policy
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IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF
1986
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Passed to control unauthorized immigration to the US
Also to help preserve jobs for those entitled to them; US
citizens and authorized workers
Contained provisions for employee sanctions, better
enforcement, and amnesty
Penalties for employers who hire aliens not authorized to
work in the United States
The IRCA gave farmers of ‘perishable crops’ two years to
adjust to the changes by finding a legal source of labor
Recent Immigration Policy
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IRCA cont’d
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H2-A program was created to allow agricultural
employers to hire seasonal workers legally
Amnesty allowed illegal aliens who had lived in
US continuously since before1982 to apply to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service for legal
resident status by 1988
Recent Immigration Policy
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IMMIGRATION ACT of 1990
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Increased total immigration under a flexible total
cap of 675,000 immigrants beginning in fiscal
year 1995.
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480,000 family-sponsored visas; 140,000 employmentbased, and 55,000 diversity visas
Revised the grounds for exclusion and
deportation, especially on political and ideological
grounds
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Repealed excluding communists and limited the
exclusion of aliens on foreign policy grounds
Recent Immigration Policy
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Post- 9/11
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The INS has officially become the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS)
within the Department of Homeland Security
Special Registration asked men over 16 with
citizenship in certain countries and without green
cards to report to certain INS centers to be
photographed, fingerprinted and interrogated
USA PATRIOT Act had more provisions for
deporting families of suspected terrorists
Immigration and the Economy
Immigration & Economy
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POINT: immigration is not detrimental to the economy
Although immigrants span the entire spectrum of the
workforce, they tend to fall into either the lower
working class or the educated professionals:
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The proportion of immigrants with bachelor’s degrees or
higher is greater than native born
Many first- and second- generation children of immigrants do
disproportionately well in academic pursuits
The number of immigrants today is actually lower than
at the beginning of the century, when the total US
population was lower – so effects of immigration are
much less drastic
Immigration & Economy
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The argument that immigrants take away native jobs was not
supported by a 1990 study. In fact, the study found that
immigration makes jobs through the immigrants’ purchasing
power, since immigrant workers are more concentrated in the
‘youthful labor force’ than natives
Many highly-educated immigrants enter the scientific and
engineering forces, both which further help bolster the economy
through industrial advances
Immigrants may be adding up to $10 billion to the economy,
based on a recent report
Families of foreign-born immigrants make, on average, make
more than all-native families
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(gross adj. incomes: $40,502 v. $35,249)
Immigrants tend to be very mobile in society, due to their youth
Immigration & Economy
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Counterpoint: immigration is a drain to the economy
Some researchers argue that the boost to the
economy by immigrants is outweighed by the drain
on native taxpayers: from $15 to $20 billion each
year
“One of every five poor people is an immigrant” –
CIS, Importing Poverty
Hispanics are twice as likely to become unemployed
than natives
In 1999, 22.8% of Hispanics were living in poverty,
compared with 7.7% of non-Hispanic Whites
Immigration & Economy
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Clarification:
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The US does not give public assistance to immigrants for
their first 3 years and it does have the power to deport those
who do, although the practice has waned greatly
However, refugees are allowed welfare immediately; nonrefugee immigrants actually receive less welfare on average
than natives
A poll of many respected economists found that it is agreed
that both legal and illegal immigrants benefit the economy.
New findings suggests the ‘undocumented’ pay about 46%
as much in taxes as natives pay, but use only about 45% as
much in services (welfare)
Asian Immigration
Asian Immigration
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Reasons for immigration
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Many Asians come to the United States to reunite
with their family, economic opportunity, and
education.
In 1997, IMF (International Monetary Fund) struck
the Asian nations. Asian nations had been
spending an excessive amounts of dollars. This
caused the value of their currencies to plummet,
which limited immigration.
Asian Population in The United States
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Asians live mostly in these five states
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New York
California
Hawaii
Texas
Illinois
Demographic
Successfulness in immigration
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Many Asian tend to form communities and help each other
through economic struggles. For example, the Korean
communities in Maryland developed the system called kye. This
system gathers money from the community and give it to the
specific individuals. These individuals will start small
businesses and they are expected to pay back so the other
individuals can start their own.
High attainment of education also leads to the success of the
Asians. Nine out of ten Asian men and eight out of ten Asian
women had at least a high school diploma. This enabled the
Asian people to work in higher paying jobs.
As a result, the median family income of $44,460. Slightly
higher than the non-Hispanic Americans.
Education Attainment
Economic Status
Poverty
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Despite the high educational attainment and
similar median income the poverty rates
were 14 percent. Slightly higher than the 8
percent non-Hispanic whites.
African Immigration
African-Americans
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In the 19th century and into the first half of the 20th
century, African immigration to the US was practically
non-existent - From 1820 to 1993 America only took
in 418,000 African immigrants
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The African nations were too poor and racism was high in
the US
Two-thirds of all African immigrants currently in the
United States arrived after 1980. Much of this
immigration was to escape poverty and political
oppression
Status of African-Born US residents
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Most African immigrants are well-educated – 88% of
adult African immigrants have a high school diploma
or better – higher than the national average of 77%
Africans often settle in urban areas where they can
utilize their education. They have one of the highest
per-capita incomes of any immigrant group
African women enjoy the protection the US offers
against domestic violence and the freedom from the
strong sexual segregation of many African nations
Causes of Immigration
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Many Africans have settled in Maryland and
the Washington suburbs in recent decades
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3 ‘waves’ of African immigration:
1970s: Educated African students seeking
political and economic refuge from Africa
1980s: Large numbers of political refugees from
the Horn of Africa
1990s: the Diversity Visa* from the US
Immigration and Naturalization Programs
* Diversity Visa allows for visas to be issued to nations who have low
rates of immigration to US (<50,000 people)
Demographics
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The states in which 6 out of 10 African Americans
lived in 2000 were: New York, California, Texas,
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland,
Michigan and Louisiana
New York was the state with the largest number of
people reporting as Black in 2000 (3,014,385)
54 percent of the Black population lived in the South,
19 percent lived in the Midwest, 18 percent lived in
the Northeast and 10 percent lived in the West
Hispanic & Latino Immigration
Hispanics
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Reasons for immigration
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Many Hispanics have immigrated to
the United States because it has
opportunities that are unavailable in
their homeland.
The growing population due to
immigration
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The high rate of immigration and
high birth rate of the Hispanic made
them the fastest growing population
in the United States. From 1990 to
2000, the Hispanic population
increased by 60 percent and in the
2000 census reported the Hispanics
become the largest minority group
in the United States.
Controversial Issues
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Some Americans fear that
the rapidly growing numbers
of Hispanics will not adopt to
the English customs, and
influence the Americans with
foreign ways. On the other
side, they worry that the non
English speaking Hispanics
will be entangled to the
underclass of the economic
status.
Hispanic Population in the United
States
Economic status
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Even though Hispanics
come to the America trying
to improve their economic
status, their educational
attainment lags them
behind. Slightly over fifty
percent of the Hispanic
people have a high school
degree or higher and nine
percent has bachelor’s
degree.
Immigration Tomorrow
Immigration Tomorrow
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If immigration continues at current rates, by
2050:
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26% of Americans will be of Hispanic ancestry,
growing from 27 million to 85 million
8% will be of Asian heritage, increasing from 9
million to 34 million
the U.S. population will grow to 387 million
people by 2050 -- 124 million more than today
Immigration Tomorrow
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that
future labor market constriction will allow
many immigrants to enter the workforce, as it
strives to employ a more diverse workforce
The percentage of blacks and whites in the
workforce will most likely fall, as the numbers
of Hispanics and Asians increase