The Demographics Of Immigration PDF Download

This report contains economic and demographic facts related to immigration, but it does not advocate any position or ideology nor make any judgments about whether immigrants should receive government services. When possible, data are presented as graphs. A review of the facts makes it apparent that the rate of U.S. immigration in the 1990s is about one-third of the rate of immigration at the beginning of the century, although the total number of immigrants, including illegals, is about the same or less than the number then. The foreign-born population of the United States is 8.5% of the total population, significantly lower than the 13% or higher of the period from 1860 to 1930. It is also evident that immigrants do not increase the rate of unemployment among native Americans, even for minority, female, and low-skill groups. The effect of immigration on wages may be negative on some special groups, and positive on others, but overall it is small. Total per capita government expenditures on immigrants are much lower than on the native-born population, no matter how immigrants are classified. It is true that narrowly defined welfare expenditures for immigrants are slightly more than for natives, but these are only a fraction of total government expenditures on immigrants and natives. The educational levels of immigrants have been increasing, although there are no major shifts in educational levels of immigrants relative to natives. (Contains 21 figures, 10 tables, and 114 references.) (SLD)