Number of Immigrants in United States Grows

August 29, 2006 -- The number of immigrants living in U.S. households rose 16 percent over the last five years, according to new data released by the Census Bureau. Many of these immigrants are coming from Mexico, and they are settling in new areas.

Six states -- California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois -- traditionally attract the largest numbers of immigrants. While the immigrant populations in those states continue to swell, Indiana had a 34 percent increase in the number of immigrants, South Dakota 44 percent, Delaware 32 percent, and New Hampshire 26 percent. Immigrants now make up 12.4 percent of the nation’s population, about 35.7 million people. Almost 11 million of those immigrants are Mexican.

Several National Research Council reports deal with immigration, including two recent reports on Hispanics in the United States and their experience here. Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies examines the Hispanic experience along several dimensions. It recommends making targeted investments to improve the education and training of Hispanics, especially that of immigrants and their children.

Hispanics and the Future of America, a collection of authored papers, examines in detail the demographics of the Hispanic population in America.

An earlier report, The New Americans, found that immigration benefits the U.S. economy overall and has little negative effect on the income and job opportunities of most native-born Americans.

• Multiple Origins, Uncertain Destinies: Hispanics and the American Future (2006)
• Hispanics and the Future of America (2006)
• The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration (1997)

• United States Census 2000