Region of Birth
In 2003 the Census Bureau reported that the 33.5 million people who were born in foreign countries represented 11.7% of the U.S. population. More than half (53.3%) came from Latin America and one-quarter (25%) came from Asia. Reflecting the reversal from a century ago when the majority of immigrants were European, in 2003 just 13.7% of immigrants were from Europe. (See Figure 3.2.)
Table 3.1 provides greater detail on the place of origin of legal immigrants in the years 2001 through 2003. Total immigration numbers were fairly stable in 2001 and 2002 but dropped significantly from a little more than one million in 2002 to 705,827 in 2003. In its 2003 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, September 2004), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported that this 34% drop in persons granted lawful permanent residence was due primarily to increased security checks that slowed application processing.
Although the numbers of immigrants from various continents took a similar drop in 2003, a few groups increased in percentage share of total immigration. Immigrants from Africa grew from 5.7% of total immigrants to 6.9% between 2002 and 2003. In the same period immigrants from Asia increased from 32.2% to 34.7% of total immigrants. The share of immigrants from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America also increased from 2002 to 2003. The Dominican Republic was the only source of immigrants that showed an increase in actual numbers of immigrants (22,604 to 26,205) from 2002 to 2003. (See Table 3.1.)
Mexico continued to lead in total legal immigrants in 2003, although the number of immigrants dropped by almost half (47%) from 2002. At 115,864 legal immigrants in 2003, Mexico was still the source of twice as many immigrants as the next leading source—India, with 50,372 immigrants. (See Table 3.1.)
FIGURE 3.2
Foreign-born by region of birth, in percent, 2003
Where the Foreign-Born Population Chooses to Live
Two-thirds of the foreign-born population lived in the West (37.3%) or the South (29.2%) in 2003. (See Figure 3.3.) According to a U.S. Census Bureau report (Luke J. Larsen, The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2003, Current Population Reports, P20-551, Washington, DC, August 2004), the foreign-born from Asia and Latin America (comprising the Caribbean, Central America, and South America) were most likely to settle in the West, with the foreign-born from Central America concentrating in both the West and the South. Foreign-born residents were more likely to live in a central city of a major metropolitan area (44.4%) compared to the native population (26.9%). Just 5.3% of foreign-born residents lived in nonmetropolitan areas in 2003 while 20.2% of the native population lived away from large cities. (See Table 3.2.)
Immigrant Populations in the States
Table 3.3 shows the total number of immigrants living in each state in 2004, the number who said they arrived since 2000, and the percentage of the state's total population who were foreign-born in 2004. California's 9.5 million immigrants represented more than one-quarter (27%) of the state's total population. The 1.2 million new arrivals since 2000 accounted for 12.6% of the total
TABLE 3.1
Immigrants admitted by region and top 20 countries of birth, fiscal years 2001–03
| 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | ||||
| Category of admission | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent |
| All countries | 705,827 | 100.0 | 1,063,732 | 100.0 | 1,064,318 | 100.0 |
| Africa | 48,738 | 6.9 | 60,269 | 5.7 | 53,948 | 5.1 |
| Asia | 244,759 | 34.7 | 342,099 | 32.2 | 349,776 | 32.9 |
| Europe | 100,769 | 14.3 | 174,209 | 16.4 | 175,371 | 16.5 |
| North America | 250,726 | 35.5 | 404,437 | 38.0 | 407,888 | 38.3 |
| Carribbean | 68,815 | 9.7 | 96,489 | 9.1 | 103,546 | 9.7 |
| Central America | 54,565 | 7.7 | 68,979 | 6.5 | 75,914 | 7.1 |
| Other North America | 127,346 | 18.0 | 238,969 | 22.5 | 228,428 | 21.5 |
| Oceania | 4,377 | .6 | 5,557 | .5 | 6,113 | .6 |
| South America | 55,247 | 7.8 | 74,506 | 7.0 | 68,888 | 6.5 |
| Unknown | 1,211 | .2 | 2,655 | .2 | 2,334 | .2 |
| Mexico | 115,864 | 16.4 | 219,380 | 20.6 | 206,426 | 19.4 |
| India | 50,372 | 7.1 | 71,105 | 6.7 | 70,290 | 6.6 |
| Philippines | 45,397 | 6.4 | 51,308 | 4.8 | 53,154 | 5.0 |
| China | 40,659 | 5.8 | 61,282 | 5.8 | 56,426 | 5.3 |
| El Salvador | 28,296 | 4.0 | 31,168 | 2.9 | 31,272 | 2.9 |
| Dominican Republic | 26,205 | 3.7 | 22,604 | 2.1 | 21,313 | 2.0 |
| Vietnam | 22,133 | 3.1 | 33,627 | 3.2 | 35,531 | 3.3 |
| Colombia | 14,777 | 2.1 | 18,845 | 1.8 | 16,730 | 1.6 |
| Guatemala | 14,415 | 2.0 | 16,229 | 1.5 | 13,567 | 1.3 |
| Russia | 13,951 | 2.0 | 20,833 | 2.0 | 20,413 | 1.9 |
| Jamaica | 13,384 | 1.9 | 14,898 | 1.4 | 15,393 | 1.4 |
| Korea | 12,512 | 1.8 | 21,021 | 2.0 | 20,742 | 1.9 |
| Haiti | 12,314 | 1.7 | 20,268 | 1.9 | 27,120 | 2.5 |
| Ukraine | 11,666 | 1.7 | 21,217 | 2.0 | 20,975 | 2.0 |
| Canada | 11,446 | 1.6 | 19,519 | 1.8 | 21,933 | 2.1 |
| Poland | 10,526 | 1.5 | 12,746 | 1.2 | 11,818 | 1.1 |
| United Kingdom | 9,601 | 1.4 | 16,181 | 1.5 | 18,436 | 1.7 |
| Pakistan | 9,444 | 1.3 | 13,743 | 1.3 | 16,448 | 1.5 |
| Peru | 9,444 | 1.3 | 11,999 | 1.1 | 11,131 | 1.0 |
| Cuba | 9,304 | 1.3 | 28,272 | 2.7 | 27,703 | 2.6 |
| Subtotal | 481,710 | 68.2 | 726,245 | 68.3 | 716,821 | 67.4 |
| Other | 224,117 | 31.8 | 337,487 | 31.7 | 347,497 | 32.6 |
foreign-born population in the state. New York was a distant second with 3.8 million immigrants representing one-fifth of the population (20.3%). While Hawaii was far down the list in total number of foreign-born residents, 17.6% of the population was foreign-born.
Table 3.4 compares educational attainment, poverty status, health insurance coverage, and receipt of welfare between natives and immigrants in selected states. Among the states selected in the report published by the Center for Immigration Studies (Steven A. Camarota, Economy Slowed, But Immigration Didn't: The Foreign-Born Population, 2000–2004, Washington, DC, November 2004), Texas, with the third largest immigrant population, had the greatest share of immigrants without a high school diploma (49.7%), immigrants and their children living in or near poverty (59.7%), and both immigrant and native families without health insurance (44.3% and 19.1%, respectively).
While nationwide 11.7% of the native population over age twenty-one lacked a high school diploma, almost three times as many immigrants (32.8%) had not completed high school. In every state a greater share of immigrants than natives lacked high school diplomas. The educational gap between natives and immigrants was greatest in western states like California, Arizona, and Colorado. The widest gap was in Colorado, where 45.1% of immigrants had not completed high school compared to just 7.2% of natives. (See Table 3.4.) Camarota noted that this gap had "enormous implications for social and economic integration of immigrants because there is no single better predictor of one's economic and social status in America than education."
According to Camarota, "near" poverty level statistics were important because such families often did not pay income taxes and typically became eligible for means-tested programs including cash welfare, Medicaid, and the earned income tax credit. (Near poverty is defined as an income below 200% of poverty threshold. The 2004 poverty threshold for a family of four including two children was $19,157. At 200% of this figure, near-poverty level for that family was an annual income less than $38,314.) A greater share of immigrant households received some type of welfare benefits than did native households. (See Table 3.4.) Likewise the share of
FIGURE 3.3
Population by region of residence and nativity, 2003
TABLE 3.2
Native and foreign-born populations, by place of residence, 2003
[Percent]
| Population | |||
| Total | Native | Foreign-born | |
| Metropolitan area | |||
| Inside central city | 29.0 | 26.9 | 44.4 |
| Outside central city | 52.6 | 52.9 | 50.3 |
| Nonmetropolitan area | 18.4 | 20.2 | 5.3 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
immigrants without health insurance was more than double that of natives (30% compared to 12.9%). Camarota cited the impact of those lacking health insurance on the nation's health care system: people without insurance typically waited longer to seek care; when they finally did seek treatment, they often required greater care and the more expensive hospital emergency room care was often their only option for treatment.
Lack of health insurance was a persistent and pressing challenge for low-income adults. In 2003 low-income adults accounted for half of the uninsured population.
TABLE 3.3
Immigrant populations by state, 2004
[Numbers in thousands]
| State | Total immigrant population |
Post-2000 arrivals* |
Immigrant share of state population |
| California | 9,542 | 1,272 | 27.0% |
| New York | 3,844 | 527 | 20.3% |
| Texas | 3,328 | 643 | 15.2% |
| Florida | 3,069 | 488 | 18.1% |
| New Jersey | 1,544 | 247 | 18.0% |
| Illinois | 1,382 | 207 | 10.9% |
| Arizona | 922 | 200 | 16.5% |
| Massachusetts | 845 | 206 | 13.3% |
| Maryland | 728 | 184 | 13.3% |
| Virginia | 703 | 172 | 9.5% |
| Washington | 702 | 135 | 11.5% |
| Georgia | 650 | 170 | 7.6% |
| North Carolina | 641 | 200 | 7.8% |
| Michigan | 548 | 101 | 5.5% |
| Pennsylvania | 534 | 107 | 4.4% |
| Colorado | 434 | 93 | 9.7% |
| Ohio | 399 | 112 | 3.5% |
| Connectictu | 376 | 53 | 11.0% |
| Oregon | 363 | 49 | 10.2% |
| Nevada | 355 | 57 | 15.8% |
| Minnesota | 283 | 63 | 5.6% |
| Wisconsin | 253 | 82 | 4.7% |
| Tennessee | 238 | 96 | 4.0% |
| Indiana | 224 | 55 | 3.6% |
| Hawaii | 220 | 32 | 17.6% |
| Missouri | 211 | 59 | 3.8% |
| Utah | 176 | 24 | 7.5% |
| Kansas | 158 | 41 | 5.9% |
| Oklahoma | 140 | 19 | 4.1% |
| New Mexico | 138 | 32 | 7.4% |
| Rhode Island | 132 | 22 | 12.5% |
| South Carolina | 128 | 39 | 3.1% |
| Iowa | 113 | 34 | 3.9% |
| Kentucky | 104 | 41 | 2.5% |
| Louisiana | 96 | 13 | 2.2% |
| Nebraska | 88 | 29 | 5.1% |
| Alabama | 88 | 27 | 2.0% |
| New Hampshire | 69 | 16 | 5.5% |
| Arkansas | 69 | 13 | 2.6% |
| D.C. | 68 | 18 | 12.3% |
| Mississippi | 59 | 15 | 2.1% |
| Idaho | 59 | 17 | 4.3% |
| Delaware | 53 | 10 | 6.5% |
| Alaska | 50 | 7 | 7.7% |
| Maine | 41 | 9 | 3.2% |
| Vermont | 22 | 2 | 3.6% |
| North Dakota | 15 | 5 | 2.4% |
| West Virginia | 14 | 9 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota | 11 | 2 | 1.5% |
| Montana | 10 | 1 | 1.1% |
| Wyoming | 10 | 2 | 2.0% |
| Total | 34,244 | 6,057 | 11.9% |
| *Based on year of arrival question. | |||
While Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) were major sources of coverage for low-income children, most of the adults did not work in jobs where employer-sponsored insurance was offered, or they could not afford coverage. A study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (Health Coverage for
TABLE 3.4
Characteristics of immigrants and natives for selected states, 2004
| Educational attainment | In or near povertyb | Without health insurance | Households receiving welfared | |||||||||||
| Percent without a Immigrants high school degreea | Immigrants and their childrenc | Natives and their children | Immigrants and their childrenc | Natives and their children | Immigrant-headed households | Natives-headed households | ||||||||
| Immigrants | Natives | Percent | Number (thousands) |
Percent | Number (thousands) |
Percent | Number (thousands) |
Percent | Number (thousands) |
Percent | Number (thousands) |
Percent | Number (thousands) |
|
| New York. | 26.8% | 10.3% | 40.8% | 1,977 | 28.38% | 3,995 | 26.1% | 1,267 | 11.3% | 1,599 | 32.1% | 534 | 19.0% | 1,084 |
| New Jersey | 21.4% | 9.7% | 33.3% | 657 | 20.08% | 1,326 | 26.0% | 512 | 10.4% | 689 | 16.9% | 109 | 10.6% | 273 |
| Massachusetts | 28.8% | 10.1% | 37.7% | 394 | 22.78% | 1,210 | 22.5% | 235 | 8.4% | 447 | 22.4% | 84 | 13.7% | 294 |
| Illinois | 30.3% | 10.5% | 38.4% | 713 | 28.1% | 3,020 | 29.0% | 539 | 11.9% | 1,279 | 15.4% | 88 | 12.8% | 547 |
| Florida | 27.7% | 10.5% | 44.4% | 1,706 | 29.2% | 3,806 | 30.7% | 1,180 | 14.5% | 1,892 | 24.3% | 336 | 13.3% | 744 |
| Texas | 49.7% | 14.3% | 59.7% | 2,818 | 34.0% | 5,814 | 44.3% | 2,095 | 19.1% | 3,279 | 29.8% | 402 | 16.4% | 1,100 |
| Georgia | 25.2% | 13.8% | 38.2% | 335 | 27.3% | 2,095 | 30.1% | 264 | 14.9% | 1,145 | 15.0% | 38 | 15.8% | 481 |
| Maryland | 26.8% | 10.3% | 37.5% | 357 | 21.4% | 972 | 31.3% | 300 | 10.2% | 461 | 16.6% | 51 | 10.5% | 190 |
| Virginia. | 21.3% | 10.6% | 29.4% | 267 | 22.1% | 1,428 | 28.0% | 255 | 10.9% | 707 | 8.1% | 23 | 12.3% | 319 |
| North Carolina | 41.7% | 17.0% | 59.0% | 477 | 34.8% | 2,581 | 43.8% | 355 | 14.4% | 1,068 | 19.7% | 46 | 19.0% | 583 |
| California | 37.4% | 8.3% | 46.9% | 6,133 | 24.7% | 5,485 | 28.2% | 3,692 | 12.6% | 2,807 | 31.4% | 1,217 | 13.8% | 1,215 |
| Arizonia | 43.0% | 9.1% | 59.3% | 784 | 29.9% | 1,269 | 34.2% | 454 | 11.7% | 497 | 31.2% | 119 | 14.3% | 248 |
| Colorado | 45.1% | 7.2% | 44.5% | 272 | 23.4% | 903 | 39.1% | 239 | 13.8% | 534 | 25.0% | 41 | 13.2% | 209 |
| Nation | 32.8% | 11.7% | 45.0% | 20,448 | 28.4% | 68,915 | 30.0% | 13,646 | 12.9% | 31,315 | 25.7% | 3,638 | 15.9% | 15,524 |
| aPersons 21 years of age and older. | ||||||||||||||
| bIn or near poverty defined as under 200 percent of the official poverty threshold. | ||||||||||||||
| cIncludes U.S.-born children of immigrant mother under age 18. | ||||||||||||||
| dAt least one person in household uses AFDC/TANF (Aid to Families with Dependent Children/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), general assistance, food stamps, SSI (Supplemental Security Income), public/subsidized housing, or Medicaid. | ||||||||||||||
FIGURE 3.4
Native and foreign-born populations, by age and sex, 2003
Low-Income Adults: Eligibility and Enrollment in Medicaid and State Coverage, Washington, DC: The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 2002) revealed that of the 5.3 million low-income persons eligible for these programs, 75% were citizens and 25% were noncitizens. The breakdown of citizens and noncitizens was almost the same for the 12.8 million persons ineligible for Medicaid and state coverage. This result suggested that noncitizens accounted for about one-quarter of the low-income adult population and they were equally balanced with citizens in the eligible and ineligible groups.
Foreign-Born and Natives Compared by Age
Figure 3.4 illustrates the difference in age groups among the foreign-born and natives. In 2003 the majority of the foreign-born (55.9% of males and 50.9% of females) were between the prime working ages of 20 and 44. Among the native population, just 34.2% of males and 33.9% of females were in this age range. Over age 65 there was little difference between foreign-born (11.5%) and native (12.1%). The other obvious difference was among the children. Just 8.9% of the foreign-born were age 18 and under compared to 27.8% of the native born. The Census Bureau noted that the small proportion of foreign-born children could be explained by the fact that most young children of immigrant parents were born in the United States and were counted as natives.
Individual and Family Incomes
In 2002, 30.5% of foreign-born, full-time, year-round workers and 16.5% of such native workers had annual incomes of less than $20,000. The share of Central American workers in this earning category was 45.3%. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 37.3% of Asian workers and 35.1% of European workers earned in excess of $50,000 compared to 30.2% of native workers. (See Figure 3.5.) When the Census Bureau compared household
FIGURE 3.5
Individual earnings of year-round full-time workers by nativity and by world region of birth, 2002
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