Immigration articles
These reports cover immigration in the US, including demographics, border security, and policy trends.
What does the Customs and Border Protection do?
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a subdivision of the US Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding the nation's borders and facilitating lawful international trade and travel. The agency enforces immigration laws, prevents the illegal entry of goods and individuals, and ensures the security of the US border. It also works to prevent the trafficking of drugs, weapons, and other contraband. It was established in 2003.
Updates annuallyWhat does the Immigration and Customs Enforcement do?
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a subdivision of the US Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing immigration laws, investigating criminal activities, and ensuring national security. ICE conducts investigations, detains and deports individuals who violate immigration laws, and works to dismantle criminal organizations involved in human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other illegal activities. It was established in 2003.
Updates annuallyWhat does the Department of Homeland Security do?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch agency responsible for protecting the United States against potential threats. Its primary functions include anti-terrorism efforts, border security, immigration and customs enforcement, cybersecurity, and disaster prevention and management. It was established in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and began operations in 2003.
Updates annuallyWhat does the State Department do?
The Department of State (State Department, DOS) is an executive branch agency responsible for conducting US foreign policy and diplomatic relations. Its functions include negotiating treaties, representing the US in international organizations, issuing passports and visas, coordinating refugee and humanitarian assistance, and overseeing foreign aid and embassy operations. It was established in 1789.
Updates annuallyWhat does the Commission on Civil Rights do?
The US Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) is an independent, bipartisan federal agency responsible for informing national civil rights policy and monitoring enforcement of federal civil rights laws. It investigates voting rights complaints and studies issues related to discrimination and unequal treatment based on race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin. It also collects and shares information on civil rights issues to support public understanding and policy development. It was established in 1957.
Updates annuallyData on Pacific Islander ethnicities, education, and income
There are 1.6 million Americans who identify as Pacific Islander, making up 0.49% of the population in 2023. From 2013 to 2023, the Pacific Islander population grew by 32.7%, or 400,000 people. Asian Americans are sometimes grouped with Pacific Islanders under the “AAPI” umbrella and are jointly celebrated every May during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This population is diverse, with education and income varying widely between ethnic groups. What are the different ethnic groups among Pacific Islanders?There are three Pacific Islands regions: Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Ethnicities are based on the island that a person’s family and ancestors originated from.
May 22, 2025How many US businesses are owned by immigrants?
The Census Bureau categorizes businesses as either nonemployer (where the owner is the only employee) or employer (which have one or more employees beside the owner). Immigrants own nearly a fifth of all employer companies and almost a quarter of nonemployer businesses — higher than their percentages of the US population or the workforce generally.
May 9, 2025AAPI Demographics: Data on Asian American ethnicities, geography, income, and education
There are 25.8 million Asian Americans living in the US, making up 7.7% of the population. Among them, 3.6 million identify as Asian in combination with another race.Asian Americans are sometimes grouped with Pacific Islanders under the “AAPI” umbrella, and the joint Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month is celebrated annually in May. The AAPI population is the fastest growing racial group in the US, with a population that nearly doubled from 2000 to 2023.The demographics of Asian Americans vary drastically across ethnic groups. Taiwanese and Indian Americans have the highest educational and income outcomes, while Southeast Asian Americans have lower incomes and educational attainment.
Apr 25, 2025What is ICE and what does it do?
Since 2003, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been responsible for enforcing federal laws governing customs, trade, and immigration. ICE was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which was passed after 9/11. This act created the DHS and reorganized existing agencies, merging the US Customs Service (formerly under the Treasury Department) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (formerly under the Justice Department) to form ICE. ICE’s mission is to preserve American security and public safety, mainly within US borders, by enforcing immigration laws. This primarily involves detaining, deporting, and convicting unauthorized immigrants. It also assists international investigations into criminal organizations and terrorist networks that threaten or seek to exploit US customs and immigration laws. It operates with a staff of over 20,000 across 400+ global offices and an annual budget of around $8 billion.
Mar 21, 2025Where has diversity changed in recent years?
The US has become more diverse over the past few years – but that doesn’t just mean “less white.” The Census Bureau uses the Diversity Index, which measures the probability that two people selected at random will be from different racial and ethnic groups. Based on this, each locale is given a score between 0% and 100%, where 0% indicates similar racial and ethnic backgrounds, and 100% indicates completely different racial backgrounds.
Mar 14, 2025Which industries employ the most immigrant workers?
In 2023, close to a fifth of the workforce was foreign-born: out of the 160.2 million people in the US workforce, about 29.7 million were immigrants. That’s an increase from 2010, when immigrants made up 15.6% of the workforce. Immigrants are employed across industries, with concentrations in education, health, and professional services. Which industries employ the most immigrants?Educational and health services employed the most immigrants— 5.5 million, or 18.4% of all foreign-born employees in 2023. This is followed by professional and business services with 4.7 million (15.8%) and construction with 3.3 million (11.1%).
Jan 29, 2025Where are the largest immigrant communities in the US?
In 2023, the US was home to an estimated 335 million people, 13.8% of whom were immigrants. Those immigrant communities tended to cluster together and concentrate in some states, and even particular parts of states. Per the Census Bureau, an immigrant (or foreign-born person) is anyone who wasn’t a US citizen at birth, even if they later naturalized.California was home to the biggest immigrant population, with 10 million foreign-born residents — more than double the number in Texas, whose 5.1 million immigrants make up the second-largest foreign-born population among the 50 states.
Jan 24, 2025Is the US becoming more diverse?
The US population is becoming more diverse. The nation’s non-white population has almost doubled over the past four decades, growing from about 24% of the population in 1990 to over 40% in 2023.What is the racial breakdown of the US?In 2023, 58% of the population identified as non-Hispanic white, 20% as Hispanic, 13% as Black, 6% as Asian or Pacific Islander, and 3% as other.Of the 335 million people in the US, 195 million identified as non-Hispanic white in 2023, or 12 out of every 20 people. This is down since 1990, when about 15 out of every 20 people identified as white.
Aug 28, 2024How many immigrants are in the American workforce?
Immigrants make up over 19% of the US workforce as of June 2024 — over 32 million out of a total of 169 million — and participate in the labor force at a higher rate than native-born workers, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).“Foreign-born workers” are people who “reside in the United States but who were not US citizens at birth. Specifically, they were born outside the United States (or one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam), and neither parent was a US citizen.” The BLS’s definition includes both legal and undocumented immigrants.How many immigrants are currently working in the US?There were 30.9 million foreign-born people employed in the US in June 2024. The total foreign-born labor force is 32.2 million people, including those who are employed and unemployed.That month, Foreign-born workers were 19% of the active labor force and 18% of the total possible labor force.
Aug 12, 2024Where do US immigrants come from?
More than 2.6 million authorized immigrants came to the US in fiscal year 2022. About 41% of them, or 1.06 million people, came for work.What is the total number of immigrants in the US?There were 2.6 million new authorized immigrant arrivals in fiscal year 2022, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security and State Department. That’s an increase from 2020 and 2021, and similar to the 2017 level.
Aug 12, 2024How many immigrants come to the US each year?
The US is home to almost 335 million people, some 46.2 million of whom (13.8%) were born outside of the country.In each year from 2021 to 2023, immigration has driven the nation’s population growth, with net migration outnumbering natural population growth that comes from having more births than deaths. Of the 1.6 million-person increase in the population from 2022 to 2023, 1.1 million (68%) came from immigration, while 504,000 (32%) came from natural growth.What types of immigration are there?Immigration can be thought of as having three different types:temporary authorized immigration with visas that offer no path to citizenshippermanent authorized immigration with a path to citizenshipunauthorized immigrationHow many temporary authorized immigrants are in the US?The first type includes foreign-born people living in the US with temporary visas including work visas, school visas, and visas to be with family. In 2022, the federal government awarded over 2 million such visas, including:1 million for work700,000 for school330,000 to people coming to the US to be with family members
Aug 7, 2024How many people seek asylum in the US?
Asylum seekers play a key role in the US immigration system, as they seek refuge from persecution in their home countries. The US provides a platform for individuals who fear persecution or harm based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.Exploring the processes, statistics, and trends surrounding asylum seekers can clarify the challenges these migrants encounter when seeking safety in the US, and can focus immigration reform for those most vulnerable populations.What is asylum?Under current laws, migrants who arrive in the US may apply for asylum status if they have suffered persecution or fear they will suffer persecution if they return to their home country. These individuals fall under the category of asylum seekers.When someone seeks asylum in the US, they can follow one of two processes: affirmative or defensive asylum.
Aug 5, 2024Border recidivism: How common are repeat illegal border crossings?
Immigration remains a hot-button issue in the United States, with border recidivism being a key aspect of policy debates. Recidivism has risen in recent years, and reports cite Title 42’s lack of penalties for illegal reentry as a reason for the trend.What is border recidivism?Border recidivism is the rate at which people try to reenter the US illegally within one year of being caught and sent back to their home country.The word “recidivism” is often used to describe how likely a formerly incarcerated person is to re-offend. The same concept applies to border recidivism, which the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defines as the percentage of people apprehended by the US Border Patrol more than once within a fiscal year (which begin on October 1 and end on September 30 of the following year) for attempting to enter the US illegally.It’s worth noting that an apprehension is not the same as an arrest. Apprehension is when Border Patrol detains someone who is unlawfully in the US. It may or may not lead to an arrest, according to the CBP’s definition.Why does the government track border recidivism?The federal government uses the border recidivism rate to measure how effective the Border Patrol is at preventing illegal immigration, according to a report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). However, the measure has some limitations.According to the GAO and the US Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, the border recidivism rate does not account for a person’s apprehension history over multiple fiscal years, nor does it consider individuals who have been apprehended but have no record of removal, which can lead to an underestimation of recidivism.
Aug 1, 2024Why do immigrants come to the US?
People immigrate to the US to work, reunite with family, study, or seek personal safety. In 2021, 42% of the 1.5 million people who immigrated to the US came for work.What reasons for immigration does the government track?The US government generally allows legal immigration for five broad reasons: work, school, family, safety, and encouraging diversity.People immigrating for work or school are often granted temporary entry rather than permanent residency. Immigration for family generally means the immigrant has a relative who is already in the US as a citizen, green card holder, or temporary visa holder with whom they want to be reunited with. Those who immigrate for safety are refugees or asylum-seekers. And finally, up to 50,000 immigrants obtain green cards annually through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program lottery that grants entry to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the US.
Aug 1, 2024How many refugees are entering the US?
There are 2.4 million refugees worldwide in need of resettlement, according to the United Nations.The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a foreign policy tool to offer hope to persecuted individuals worldwide.What is the definition of a refugee?Refugees and asylum seekers both leave their home countries due to fears of persecution. However, the process for seeking protection and the requirements within the US immigration system necessitates designating these people into two categories.Refugees apply for refugee status before coming to the US, while asylees apply for asylum status while already in the US or at a port of entry.According to the USRAP, refugees are people who have experienced past persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.How many refugees enter the US annually?Over 3.6 million refugees have entered the US since 1975 — more than the population of Utah.After hitting a 40-year annual low of 11,411 during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, over 60,000 refugees entered the country in 2023, the most since 2016. By June 30, 2024, the annual total had already eclipsed that at 68,000.
Aug 1, 2024How long does family-based immigration to the US take?
Family-based immigration most often involves people moving to the US to reunite with their spouse/fiancé(e) and children, or children being adopted from abroad. Per recent Department of Homeland Security data, spouses, dependent children, and parents trying to join family members in the US have median wait times of nearly a year, give or take a few months.In other situations, family members can wait even longer. The family-based immigration process is subject to varying timelines, primarily influenced by the applicant’s relationship to a US citizen and their country of origin.What is family-based immigration?Family-based immigration, facilitated through US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), allows American citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor visas for specific family members; these can ultimately lead to permanent residency. This visa pathway was solidified with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which relaxed Cold War-era immigration quotas to grant entry to more skilled laborers and allow more people to reunite with family members living in the US.Unlike employment-based and asylum visas that fulfill economic or humanitarian objectives, family-based immigration prioritizes keeping families together.
Aug 1, 2024Statistics on unauthorized US immigration and US border crossings by year
Border officials encountered 11 million unauthorized migrants attempting to enter the US between October 2019 and June 2024.Data on these border encounters — which include people attempting to enter the country or apprehended trying to cross the border without inspection — helps the government estimate the number of individuals illegally entering the US.By understanding the demographics and origins of people encountered at the border, policymakers can better understand the complex factors driving immigration and make informed policy decisions.What is a border encounter?The Department of Homeland Security separates border encounters into three categories:Apprehensions are people temporarily detained by the US Border Patrol (USBP) for crossing the border illegally between ports of entry. They may or may not be arrested under Title 8 and can file for asylee status.Inadmissibles are people seeking legal admission at official ports of entry who are found ineligible by officers of the Office of Field Operations (OFO) under Title 8. This category also includes people seeking humanitarian protection and people who voluntarily withdraw their admission application; they can also file for asylee status.Expulsions are migrants denied exclusively through Title 42 to stop the spread of COVID-19. This status only applied from March 2020 to May 2023. USBP or OFO officers were empowered to expel people and return them to their home country or last non-US location. These individuals were not given the opportunity to apply for asylum.These encounters don't necessarily reflect the actual number of people trying to cross the border; some people make multiple crossings during the same fiscal year, meaning they’d appear more than once in the data, and others successfully enter without encountering any US official.
Aug 1, 2024How many people die crossing the US-Mexico border?
Since 1998, at least 8,000 undocumented migrants have died attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the US. Their journey often involves traveling through desert areas where there’s few sources of water, steep rocky terrain, and temperatures reaching 118°F during the summer.Extreme heat, drownings, and falls are some of the frequent causes of death for those trying to cross.
Aug 1, 2024What types of work visas and green cards does the US issue?
People immigrating to the US for work have two visa options: work-related temporary visas that are time-bound, and employment-based immigrant visas (typically called “green cards,” which can also be issued for non-work related reasons) that offer permanent residence in the United States.The government permits immigration for multiple reasons: to reunite families, provide safety for refugees, and expand labor pools for seasonal work, among others. In 2022, most authorized immigrants — 42% — were admitted on work-related visas. Qualifying for either a temporary work visa or a green card depends on a range of factors, including offers of employment and measures of personal and professional achievement.How does the US admit immigrant workers?Visas are permits that citizens of foreign countries must obtain before entering the United States. While Congress holds the power to regulate immigration, the actual application process is managed by two different bodies, depending on the type of visa: the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security, deals with green cards, and the Department of State manages temporary visas.
Aug 1, 2024An overview of the US–Mexico border
The United States and Mexico share a nearly 2,000-mile land border. Along the way, the American states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas abut the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas.How long is the US–Mexico border?The 1,954-miles-long border between the US and Mexico includes 18 miles of maritime boundary on the Pacific Coast and 12 miles extending into the Gulf of Mexico.The Rio Grande, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, divides the nations for 1,255 miles. The remaining distance includes a stretch of land from El Paso, Texas, on the east to the southwestern tip of Arizona, where the border follows the Colorado River 24 miles north. There, it meets and follows the southern border of California to the Pacific Ocean.Where do people live on the border?The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the US–Mexico border region, which extends 62.5 miles north and south from the border, is home to around 15 million people. More than 1 million live in 15 groups of sister cities established over decades of binational relations to coordinate emergency response plans.The largest US cities on the border are San Diego, California; El Paso, Texas; and Laredo, Texas.
Jul 30, 2024Immigration is down and so are births: Why population growth slowed down
The population of the United States grew by 1.5 million between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 — the smallest annual growth since the 1940s.There are a few methods for measuring these population changes. First, there’s natural population change, which is the number of deaths in a given year subtracted from births. There’s also change from migration, which counts the number of immigrants arriving in a given year. Plus, migration between states needs to be counted for state populations.A drop in every facet of population change has led to slowing population growth. The graphic below breaks down population changes by state and region.
Jan 10, 2020What is the H-1B visa?
The H-1B visa is one of several temporary visas that allow people from other countries to live and work in the US, with 389,354 people who received or renewed an H-1B visa in 2019. Here is an explanation of the program, the lottery selection process, and the people who hold H-1B visas.
Oct 7, 2020Supreme Court agrees to review 'Remain in Mexico' policy
On February 18, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether the Biden administration’s ending of the Migrant Protection Protocols was legal. The policy, otherwise known as Remain in Mexico, requires people fleeing persecution who arrive at the southern US land border to wait in Mexico as they wait for their immigration hearing. It only applies to people from countries other than Mexico.Beginning under the Trump administration in January 2019, the program was a change from the previous policy of allowing migrants seeking protection to stay in the United States while awaiting immigration proceedings.A federal district appeals court ruled in August 2021 that the policy must remain in place. According to new data released in February, 673 people have enrolled in the Migrant Protection Protocols since it was restarted.
Apr 11, 2022How many people have received a US green card?
Green cards, officially known as Permanent Resident Cards, indicate a foreign-born person’s lawful permanent residency status in the US.In 2022, the US accepted 1.02 million green card applications, a 37.6% increase from 2021. As of January 2023, there were 12.7 million lawful permanent residents living in the US.
Dec 8, 2023Eight ways the pandemic affected American life in data
During the pandemic, the number of jobs available grew, the number of people getting educated fell, and spending on things such as recreation and hotel stays plummeted. Here are eight charts showing some of the ways the pandemic reverberated in different realms of American life.
Jul 12, 2022How many student immigrants come to the US and what countries do they come from?
About 2.6 million authorized immigrants entered the US in 2022, mostly with visas, rebounding after a nearly 40% decline from 2019 to 2021, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State.Work was the most common reason for immigration, accounting for 1.1 million or 41% of new immigrant arrivals that year.How many immigrants come to the US for school?School is the second most common reason new immigrants come to the US. In 2022, 701,945 people came to the US as students. This is comparable to 2019, when 728,739 students arrived.
Oct 31, 2023What will America’s population look like by 2100?
By 2100, the United States will be home to 366 million people, according to Census Bureau projections. That’s 32 million more people than in 2022, but it also indicates a slight decline from a projected peak down the road.The Census Bureau projects America’s population to grow older and more diverse by the end of the 21st century, with immigration and fertility rates driving most changes through 2100.The Census also projects immigration will be the largest driver of population growth through the rest of the century. Without any new immigration, the Bureau estimates the nation’s population would begin declining in 2024, resulting in approximately 107 million fewer people in 2100 than in 2022. Conversely, it also projects a high-immigration scenario in which the US could have an estimated 102 million additional people by then.How much is the US population predicted to grow by 2100?The Census projects the population will grow by 9.7%, or 33 million people, between 2022 and 2100. That’s roughly equivalent to the current population of Texas. According to these projections, the US population will peak at 369 million people in 2080 before declining through the rest of the century.What are the predicted birth and death rates for the US?US birth rates are predicted to decline throughout the remainder of the 21st century, from 10.8 births per 1,000 people in 2023 to 8.5 per 1,000 in 2100. Meanwhile, the death rate will increase from 8.5 per 1,000 people in 2023 to 11.9 per 1,000 in 2100.Fertility rates have generally declined in the US since the late 1950s, and the share of the population over 65 has increased. The Census expects these trends to continue, resulting in a death rate that exceeds the birth rate by 2038. By 2100, the Census Bureau estimates there will be 1.2 million more deaths in the US than births.
Jan 26, 2024The 90-year-old law that defines border crossing criminality
One issue at the heart of the current immigration debate is this question: should unauthorized entry int he US continue to be criminalized? The criminalization of unauthorized entry in the US. Criminalization began in 1929 under section 1325, but prosecution of unauthorized entry has been inconsistent.While the passage of 1325 led to thousands of illegal entry prosecutions after it first passed, usage of it declined throughout the 20th century. More recently, illegal entry prosecutions have been on the rise.Here’s a look at the numbers behind the law and who would be affected if a repeal was passed.What is Section 1325?In 1929, South Carolina Senator Coleman Blease proposed a change in the US Code that made unauthorized entry into the country a misdemeanor. Formally titled Section 1325, it was designed to target Latin American immigration, which unlike European and Asian immigration at the time, was not otherwise limited by quotas or bans.Under the law, unauthorized immigrants can either be deported without filing charges or authorities can choose to initiate federal criminal procedures. By 1940, 44,000 illegal entry cases had been filed through Section 1325. However, after that time, illegal entry prosecutions fell out of favor, and Section 1325 became somewhat irrelevant to immigration enforcement.
Dec 3, 2019What are the demographics of Hispanic voters?
Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority group in the US, and greater attention has been placed on the Hispanic vote over the past few election cycles. In 2020, around 13% of citizens over 18 were Hispanic, and Hispanic voters cast around 11% of ballots, according to Census data.Hispanic voters are younger on average, turn out at lower rates, and are most concentrated among states near the American Southwest.Where are most Hispanic voters located?Hispanic Americans hold the highest shares of the voting-age citizen population in states along the US-Mexico border. New Mexico had the highest, with 36% of this demographic identifying as Hispanic, followed by California, Texas, and Arizona. In 2020, these four states, in addition to Nevada and Florida, had at least 20% of eligible voters identify as Hispanic.These states also had the greatest Hispanic vote share in 2020. In four states (New Mexico, California, Texas, and Arizona), more than 20% of votes cast in 2020 were by Hispanic citizens. Maine had the least, with less than 1% of votes cast by Hispanic voters.
Oct 19, 2022Where do international adoptees come from?
American families adopted 1,517 children from abroad in fiscal year 2022, the lowest annual total in the 21st century. Nearly 40% of them were born in one of three countries: Colombia (235), India (223), and South Korea (141).How many children are adopted each year in the United States?Government data on adoptions is limited because many domestic adoptions happen privately (including stepparents adopting their stepchildren). These private adoptions don’t follow the same bureaucratic process, so government agencies are unable to track them.For adoptions that are trackable, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports 54,240 public domestic adoptions through the child welfare system in fiscal year 2021. Internationally, the State Department reported 2,971 adoptions from overseas in 2019 and 1,622 in 2020.
Feb 28, 2024How common are multigenerational households?
In 2022, there were an estimated 4.8 million multigenerational households in the US — homes with three or more generations living under one roof — equal to 3.7% of all households in the country. Those households contain 26 million people, or 8.1% of the US population.Are multigenerational households becoming more common?Multigenerational households have consistently hovered at around 3.8% of all households in the US. 2022’s rate of 3.7% was the lowest since 2010.
Dec 5, 2023