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This has been a controversial issue in most recent years representing the thought that the U.S. should be actually more restrictive with immigration policies

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The statue of liberty has come to be a symbol of America's welcoming of immigrants. This image represents the belief that the U.S. should have more relaxed immigration policies.

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According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in August 2020, 60% of US citizens believe that immigrants help strengthen the country due to their hard work and skills, while 28% believe that immigrants are actually a burden because they take jobs, housing, and healthcare from others. This data shows that the majority of Americans do have a solid positive view of immigrants and a need to recognize their contributions to society.

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Immigration has been a largescale issue in the United States for a very long time. The debate centers around how the country must handle the millions of people who come to the U.S. every year searching for a better existence. Some believe that the U.S. should have more relaxed immigration policies, while others believe that the country should be less relaxed and more restrictive.

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The "Trends in Migration to the U.S", analyzes recent trends in migration to the United States. The article discusses the changes in number of immigrants over time, including shifts in their first countries and final destinations within the US. The article also examines the economic, social, and political factors that drive migration. In terms of immigration, this article provides important context for understanding the dynamics of migration and the challenges and opportunities it can give.

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Under the motto e pluribus unum (from many, one), U.S. presidents frequently remind Americans that they share the immigrant experience of beginning anew in the land of opportunity. ¹ Immigration is widely considered to be in the national interest, since it permits individuals to better themselves as it strengthens the United States.

For its first 100 years, the United States facilitated immigration, welcoming foreigners to settle a vast country. Beginning in the 1880s, an era of qualitative immigration restrictions began as certain types of immigrants were barred: prostitutes, workers with contracts that tied them to a particular employer for several years, and Chinese. In the 1920s, quantitative restrictions or quotas set a ceiling on the number of immigrants accepted each year. ²

Immigration law changed in 1965. Qualitative and quantitative restrictions were maintained, but national origin preferences that favored the entry of Europeans were dropped. U.S. immigration policy began to favor the entry of foreigners who had U.S. relatives and foreigners requested by U.S. employers. During the 1970s, the origins of most immigrants changed from Europe to Latin America and Asia: Between 2000 and 2009 over three-fourths of the 10 million immigrants admitted were from Latin America and Asia.

U.S. immigration has occurred in waves, with peaks followed by troughs (see figure). The first wave of immigrants, mostly English-speakers from the British Isles, arrived before records were kept beginning in 1820. The second wave, dominated by Irish and German Catholics in the 1840s and 1850s, challenged the dominance of the Protestant church and led to a backlash against Catholics, defused only when the Civil War practically stopped immigration in the 1860s.

The third wave, between 1880 and 1914, brought over 20 million European immigrants to the United States, an average of 650,000 a year at a time when the United States had 75 million residents. Most southern and eastern European immigrants arriving via New York's Ellis Island found factory jobs in Northeastern and Midwestern cities. Third-wave European immigration was slowed first by World War I and then by numerical quotas in the 1920s.

Between the 1920s and 1960s, immigration paused. Immigration was low during the Depression of the 1930s, and in some years more people left the United States than arrived. Immigration rose after World War II ended, as veterans returned with European spouses and Europeans migrated. The fourth wave began after 1965, and has been marked by rising numbers of immigrants from Latin America and Asia. The United States admitted an average 250,000 immigrants a year in the 1950s, 330,000 in the 1960s, 450,000 in the 1970s, 735,000 in the 1980s, and over 1 million a year since the 1990s.

Almost 110,000 foreigners enter the United States on a typical day. Three major entry doors exist: a front door for immigrants, a side door for temporary visitors, and a back door for the unauthorized. Almost 3,100 foreigners a day receive immigrant visas or green cards that allow them to live, work, and become naturalized U.S. citizens after five years. Over 105,000 tourist, business, and student visitors arrive; some stay only a few days, while others stay for several years. Finally, over 1,500 unauthorized foreigners a day were settling in the United States until the 2008 recession reduced their number sharply. Half of the unauthorized eluded apprehension at the Mexico-U.S. border, while the others entered legally through the side door but violated the terms of their visitor visas by working or not departing. ³

During the 1990s, contentious debates arose about the relationship of immigrants and their children to the U.S. educational, welfare, and political systems; and more broadly, whether the immigration system served U.S. national interests. Since then, the immigration debate has centered on preventing the entry of terrorists, controlling unauthorized migration, and dealing with U.S. employers who request foreigners to fill jobs.

Today, unauthorized migration is the main policy concern. The number of unauthorized foreigners peaked at 12.2 million in 2007, fell by almost 1 million during the recent recession, and may have increased again with economic recovery. Debates over how to prevent unauthorized migration and deal with the unauthorized already living in the United States are polarized. Many Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives, prefer an enforcement-first approach-more agents and fences on the Mexico-U.S. border and a requirement that U.S. employers submit data on newly hired employees to prevent unauthorized workers from getting jobs. President Obama and many Democrats prefer "comprehensive immigration reform" that includes more border and interior enforcement to discourage entry and employment, but also a path to legal immigrant status.

In 2006 and 2013, the U.S. Senate approved comprehensive immigration reform bills that included a path to legalization. The Senate's Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 would:

Step up enforcement to deter illegal migration.

Provide a 13-year path to U.S. citizenship for unauthorized foreigners who arrived in the United States before Dec. 31, 2011, and remained continuously since their arrival.

Create new guest worker programs for low-skilled farm and nonfarm workers.

Increase the number of temporary work visas available to foreigners with college degrees coming to the United States to fill jobs.

The House approved an enforcement-first bill in 2005 and has opted for a piecemeal approach to immigration reform in 2013, with bills that increase border and interior enforcement and expand guest worker programs for farm and information technology (IT) workers.

References

1. Exceptions are Native Americans, slaves, and those who became U.S. citizens by purchase or conquest, such as French nationals who became Americans with the Louisiana Purchase, Mexicans who became Americans with the end of the Mexican War, and Puerto Ricans who became U.S. citizens after the American victory over Spain in 1898.

2. Susan Martin, A Nation of Immigrants (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).

3. U.S. immigration statistics distinguish between Entries Without Inspection (EWIs) and overstayers, those who entered legally and violated the terms of their entry or did not depart. About 55 percent of the 11 million unauthorized foreigners in 2012 were EWIs.

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The article "Key findings about U.S. immigrants" by Pew Research Center gives data about immigrants in the United States. The article emphasizes key demographic and economic characteristics of immigrants in the country, such as their origin, education level, and income. It also discusses their legality and political attitudes. In terms of immigration policy, this article provides key insights into the diversity and contributions of immigrants in the US, which can inform debates about immigration reform.

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The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world's migrants. The population of immigrants is also very diverse, with just about every country in the world represented among U.S. immigrants.

Pew Research Center regularly publishes statistical portraits of the nation's foreign-born population, which include historical trends since 1960. Based on these portraits, here are answers to some key questions about the U.S. immigrant population.

How many people in the U.S. are immigrants?

The U.S. foreign-born population reached a record 44.8 million in 2018. Since 1965, when U.S. immigration laws replaced a national quota system, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. has more than quadrupled. Immigrants today account for 13.7% of the U.S. population, nearly triple the share (4.8%) in 1970. However, today's immigrant share remains below the record 14.8% share in 1890, when 9.2 million immigrants lived in the U.S.

What is the legal status of immigrants in the U.S.?

Most immigrants (77%) are in the country legally, while almost a quarter are unauthorized, according to new Pew Research Center estimates based on census data adjusted for undercount. In 2017, 45% were naturalized U.S. citizens.

Some 27% of immigrants were permanent residents and 5% were temporary residents in 2017. Another 23% of all immigrants were unauthorized immigrants. From 1990 to 2007, the unauthorized immigrant population more than tripled in size - from 3.5 million to a record high of 12.2 million in 2007. By 2017, that number had declined by 1.7 million, or 14%. There were 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2017, accounting for 3.2% of the nation's population.

The decline in the unauthorized immigrant population is due largely to a fall in the number from Mexico - the single largest group of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. Between 2007 and 2017, this group decreased by 2 million. Meanwhile, there was a rise in the number from Central America and Asia.

Do all lawful immigrants choose to become U.S. citizens?

Not all lawful permanent residents choose to pursue U.S. citizenship. Those who wish to do so may apply after meeting certain requirements, including having lived in the U.S. for five years. In fiscal year 2019, about 800,000 immigrants applied for naturalization. The number of naturalization applications has climbed in recent years, though the annual totals remain below the 1.4 million applications filed in 2007.

Generally, most immigrants eligible for naturalization apply to become citizens. However, Mexican lawful immigrants have the lowest naturalization rate overall. Language and personal barriers, lack of interest and financial barriers are among the top reasons for choosing not to naturalize cited by Mexican-born green card holders, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.

Where do immigrants come from?

Mexico is the top origin country of the U.S. immigrant population. In 2018, roughly 11.2 million immigrants living in the U.S. were from there, accounting for 25% of all U.S. immigrants. The next largest origin groups were those from China (6%), India (6%), the Philippines (4%) and El Salvador (3%).

By region of birth, immigrants from Asia combined accounted for 28% of all immigrants, close to the share of immigrants from Mexico (25%). Other regions make up smaller shares: Europe, Canada and other North America (13%), the Caribbean (10%), Central America (8%), South America (7%), the Middle East and North Africa (4%) and sub-Saharan Africa (5%).

Who is arriving today?

More than 1 million immigrants arrive in the U.S. each year. In 2018, the top country of origin for new immigrants coming into the U.S. was China, with 149,000 people, followed by India (129,000), Mexico (120,000) and the Philippines (46,000).

By race and ethnicity, more Asian immigrants than Hispanic immigrants have arrived in the U.S. in most years since 2009. Immigration from Latin America slowed following the Great Recession, particularly for Mexico, which has seen both decreasing flows into the United States and large flows back to Mexico in recent years.

Asians are projected to become the largest immigrant group in the U.S. by 2055, surpassing Hispanics. Pew Research Center estimates indicate that in 2065, those who identify as Asian will make up some 38% of all immigrants; as Hispanic, 31%; White, 20%; and Black, 9%.

Is the immigrant population growing?

New immigrant arrivals have fallen, mainly due to a decrease in the number of unauthorized immigrants coming to the U.S. The drop in the unauthorized immigrant population can primarily be attributed to more Mexican immigrants leaving the U.S. than coming in.

Looking forward, immigrants and their descendants are projected to account for 88% of U.S. population growth through 2065, assuming current immigration trends continue. In addition to new arrivals, U.S. births to immigrant parents will be important to future growth in the country's population. In 2018, the percentage of women giving birth in the past year was higher among immigrants (7.5%) than among the U.S. born (5.7%). While U.S.-born women gave birth to more than 3 million children that year, immigrant women gave birth to about 760,000.

How many immigrants have come to the U.S. as refugees?

Since the creation of the federal Refugee Resettlement Program in 1980, about 3 million refugees have been resettled in the U.S. - more than any other country.

In fiscal 2019, a total of 30,000 refugees were resettled in the U.S. The largest origin group of refugees was the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by Burma (Myanmar), Ukraine, Eritrea and Afghanistan. Among all refugees admitted in fiscal year 2019, 4,900 are Muslims (16%) and 23,800 are Christians (79%). Texas, Washington, New York and California resettled more than a quarter of all refugees admitted in fiscal 2018.

Where do most U.S. immigrants live?

Nearly half (45%) of the nation's immigrants live in just three states: California (24%), Texas (11%) and Florida (10%). California had the largest immigrant population of any state in 2018, at 10.6 million. Texas, Florida and New York had more than 4 million immigrants each.

In terms of regions, about two-thirds of immigrants lived in the West (34%) and South (34%). Roughly one-fifth lived in the Northeast (21%) and 11% were in the Midwest.

In 2018, most immigrants lived in just 20 major metropolitan areas, with the largest populations in the New York, Los Angeles and Miami metro areas. These top 20 metro areas were home to 28.7 million immigrants, or 64% of the nation's total foreign-born population. Most of the nation's unauthorized immigrant population lived in these top metro areas as well.

How do immigrants compare with the U.S. population overall in education?

Immigrants in the U.S. as a whole have lower levels of education than the U.S.-born population. In 2018, immigrants were over three times as likely as the U.S. born to have not completed high school (27% vs. 8%). However, immigrants were just as likely as the U.S. born to have a bachelor's degree or more (32% and 33%, respectively).

Educational attainment varies among the nation's immigrant groups, particularly across immigrants from different regions of the world. Immigrants from Mexico and Central America are less likely to be high school graduates than the U.S. born (54% and 47%, respectively, do not have a high school diploma, vs. 8% of U.S. born). On the other hand, immigrants from every region except Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America were as likely as or more likely than U.S.-born residents to have a bachelor's or advanced degree.

Among all immigrants, those from South Asia (71%) were the most likely to have a bachelor's degree or more. Immigrants from Mexico (7%) and Central America (11%) were the least likely to have a bachelor's or higher.

How many immigrants are working in the U.S.?

In 2017, about 29 million immigrants were working or looking for work in the U.S., making up some 17% of the total civilian labor force. Lawful immigrants made up the majority of the immigrant workforce, at 21.2 million. An additional 7.6 million immigrant workers are unauthorized immigrants, less than the total of the previous year and notably less than in 2007, when they were 8.2 million. They alone account for 4.6% of the civilian labor force, a dip from their peak of 5.4% in 2007. During the same period, the overall U.S. workforce grew, as did the number of U.S.-born workers and lawful immigrant workers.

Immigrants are projected to drive future growth in the U.S. working-age population through at least 2035. As the Baby Boom generation heads into retirement, immigrants and their children are expected to offset a decline in the working-age population by adding about 18 million people of working age between 2015 and 2035.

How well do immigrants speak English?

Among immigrants ages 5 and older in 2018, half (53%) are proficient English speakers - either speaking English very well (37%) or only speaking English at home (17%).

Immigrants from Mexico have the lowest rates of English proficiency (34%), followed by those from Central America (35%), East and Southeast Asia (50%) and South America (56%). Immigrants from Canada (96%), Oceania (82%), Europe (75%) and sub-Saharan Africa (74%) have the highest rates of English proficiency.

The longer immigrants have lived in the U.S., the greater the likelihood they are English proficient. Some 47% of immigrants living in the U.S. five years or less are proficient. By contrast, more than half (57%) of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for 20 years or more are proficient English speakers.

Among immigrants ages 5 and older, Spanish is the most commonly spoken language. Some 42% of immigrants in the U.S. speak Spanish at home. The top five languages spoken at home among immigrants outside of Spanish are English only (17%), followed by Chinese (6%), Hindi (5%), Filipino/Tagalog (4%) and French (3%).

How many immigrants have been deported recently?

Around 337,000 immigrants were deported from the U.S. in fiscal 2018, up since 2017. Overall, the Obama administration deported about 3 million immigrants between 2009 and 2016, a significantly higher number than the 2 million immigrants deported by the Bush administration between 2001 and 2008. In 2017, the Trump administration deported 295,000 immigrants, the lowest total since 2006.

Immigrants convicted of a crime made up the less than half of deportations in 2018, the most recent year for which statistics by criminal status are available. Of the 337,000 immigrants deported in 2018, some 44% had criminal convictions and 56% were not convicted of a crime. From 2001 to 2018, a majority (60%) of immigrants deported have not been convicted of a crime.

How many immigrant apprehensions take place at the U.S.-Mexico border?

The number of apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border has doubled from fiscal 2018 to fiscal 2019, from 396,579 in fiscal 2018 to 851,508 in fiscal 2019. Today, there are more apprehensions of non-Mexicans than Mexicans at the border. In fiscal 2019, apprehensions of Central Americans at the border exceeded those of Mexicans for the fourth consecutive year. The first time Mexicans did not make up the bulk of Border Patrol apprehensions was in 2014.

How do Americans view immigrants and immigration?

While immigration has been at the forefront of a national political debate, the U.S. public holds a range of views about immigrants living in the country. Overall, a majority of Americans have positive views about immigrants. About two-thirds of Americans (66%) say immigrants strengthen the country "because of their hard work and talents," while about a quarter (24%) say immigrants burden the country by taking jobs, housing and health care.

Yet these views vary starkly by political affiliation. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 88% think immigrants strengthen the country with their hard work and talents, and just 8% say they are a burden. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 41% say immigrants strengthen the country, while 44% say they burden it.

Americans were divided on future levels of immigration. A quarter said legal immigration to the U.S. should be decreased (24%), while one-third (38%) said immigration should be kept at its present level and almost another third (32%) said immigration should be increased.
Note: This is an update of a post originally published May 3, 2017, and written by Gustavo López, a former research analyst focusing on Hispanics, immigration and demographics; and Kristen Bialik, a former research assistant.
CORRECTION (Sept. 21, 2020): An update to the methodology used to tabulate figures in the chart "Among new immigrant arrivals, Asians outnumber Hispanics" has changed all figures from 2001 and 2012. This new methodology has also allowed the inclusion of the figure from 2000. Furthermore, the earlier version of the chart incorrectly showed the partial year shares of Hispanic and Asian recent arrivals in 2015; the corrected complete year shares are 31% and 36%, respectively.

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Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world's migrants.

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This article discusses the hardships faced by US citizens living abroad who wish to renounce their citizenship. The article highlights the case of a person who decided to renounce his citizenship, only to find out that the process has been halted due to COVID-19 . The article sheds light on the bureaucratic hurdles faced by US citizens living abroad and how the pandemic has worsened the situation. In terms of immigration, this article touches upon the issue of American citizens leaving the country, which can have strong implications for the US society.

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In recent years, Michael has come to regard the United States, the nation of which he has been a citizen all his life, as an abusive parent.

"I can acknowledge my past association with that person while at the same time wanting to keep future association to a minimum," he said.

Michael - the name is false as he requested anonymity to avoid being inundated with hate mail - found his disaffection with his native country reach crunch point in 2020. The chaotic end of the Donald Trump era combined with the inequities exposed by the Covid pandemic made him despair of being an American.

"Coronavirus made me realize that in the US, if you're not a member of the moneyed elite you're left to fend for yourself with virtually no help from the federal government," he said. "The farcical presidential campaign made me realize that I don't want to be a member of a society in which my vote is made irrelevant by gerrymandering or the electoral college."

And so Michael decided to renounce his US citizenship. Having moved to Finland 10 years ago, he would break the ties that officially bound him to a country whose values he no longer recognised.

That's when Michael's troubles really began. He discovered that along with thousands of other US citizens living abroad, he was caught in a Kafkaesque trap.

For almost two years, since the pandemic struck in March 2020, most US consular missions around the world have suspended their expatriation services for those wishing to give up US citizenship. The US embassy in London, the largest of its sort in western Europe, announces on its website that it is "currently unable to accept appointments for loss of nationality applications" and is unable to say when services will resume.

The US state department says giving up citizenship requires a face-to-face interview with a government official, and that it is too risky given coronavirus.

Delays have led to a growing mountain of disgruntled citizens. By some calculations, there may be as many as 30,000 people among the estimated 5 million to 9 million US citizens living abroad who would like to begin the renunciation process but can't.

Joshua Grant is one of them. He was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, until he moved to Germany when he was 21 to learn the language.

He has been there ever since. He lives in Lower Saxony and married a German citizen last year. Grant, 30, feels ready to acquire German citizenship, but under German law he must let go of his US passport. Easier said than done.

He submitted a pile of paperwork to the US embassy in July 2020. Nothing has happened. He has written emails to the embassy staff, with no reply.

He contacted the office of US senator from Alabama Richard Shelby. They passed him on to the state department, which in turn passed him back to the bureau of consular affairs, which mentioned the pandemic.

"It's very taxing. My whole life in Germany is on hold," he said. "It's funny: people in Germany tend to see the US as a liberal country where the rule of law was established, but I can't even find anyone in the US government to talk to."

Nine US citizens abroad who have found themselves unable to give up their nationality are now suing the state department in a federal court in Washington. The suit, brought on the plaintiffs' behalf by the French-based group Association of Accidental Americans, likens the situation to feudal times.

"The US appears intent on preventing its citizens from exercising their natural and fundamental right to voluntarily renounce their citizenship," it says.

Some people want to give up US citizenship because the government has been making the burden of being an American more onerous for those abroad. In 2010 the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was passed, requiring foreign banks and other financial institutions to report on any clients they suspect of being American to the IRS.

The US is also one of only two countries (the other is Eritrea) that tax people on their citizenship rather than where they live. That forces Americans abroad to declare their global income to the IRS, with possible tax implications.

The impact of these burdens is reflected in the number of people who renounce each year, though the official statistics are notoriously imprecise as the US government, by its own admission, lumps citizens applying to sever their ties together with long-term resident green card holders doing the same.

Even taking into account this statistical lack of clarity, however, the figures are striking. Between 2000 and 2010 the total remained relatively steady at less than 1,000 people, but after FATCA came in, the numbers rose sharply to more than 5,000 in 2016.

Some of the would-be renouncers are "accidental Americans", having acquired citizenship because they were born in the US though they have lived elsewhere all their lives.

Boris Johnson was an 'accidental American' until he renounced his US citizenship in 2017. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/No10 Downing Street

That label could be applied to the UK prime minister Boris Johnson, who was born in New York but has not lived in the US since he was five. Johnson renounced his citizenship in 2017, having said he was outraged a few years earlier by having to pay the US tax authorities for gains on the sale of his London home.

Marie Sock, the first woman to stand as a presidential candidate in the Gambia, was forced to pull out of the race recently after she failed to get any response to her request to renounce her US nationality from the US embassy.

She explained in a video posted on Facebook that under Gambia election law, presidential candidates must be sole Gambian nationals.

James - also not his real name - was born in Texas but has not lived in the US since he was four. He now lives in Singapore.

He became disillusioned when he learned that because his son was born outside the US he would not be eligible for US citizenship, and yet because of James's citizenship he would treated as if he were a US taxpayer. That struck him as a modern form of taxation without representation.

"The double standards really annoy me," he said.

For the past year he has been trying to get through to an official who will help him renounce his citizenship, without success.

"I never asked for US citizenship, and now I'm not even allowed to give it up."

This article was amended on 20 January 2022 to note that official US statistics meld citizens applying to give up their status with long-term resident green card holders doing the same. An estimate of 5 million to 9 million US citizens living abroad has also been added, replacing a figure of 9 million.

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Americans seeking to renounce their citizenship are stuck with it for now

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In recent years, Michael has come to regard the United States, the nation of which he has been a citizen all his life, as an abusive parent. "I can acknowledge my past association with that person while at the same time wanting to keep future association to a minimum," he said.