ACEI-Global Blog

January 25th, 2019

In November 2018, the Pew Research Center, which regularly publishes statistical portraits of the nation’s foreign-born, released the results of its latest research on U.S. immigration. We would like to share a summary of this research to help answer some key questions about the U.S. immigrant population.

1. The United States has the world’s largest immigrant population. Currently, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country representing nearly about every country in the world. (For more, click here)
2. Today, immigrants account for 13.5% of the U.S. population, but this number remains below the record 14.8% share in 1890, when 9.2 million immigrants lived in the U.S. (Fore more, click here)
3. 76% of immigrants are in the U.S. legally, while a quarter are unauthorized. (For more, click here)
4. In 2016, 45% were naturalized U.S. citizens. Approximately, 27% of immigrants were permanent residents and 5% were temporary residents in 2016. Another 24% of all immigrants were unauthorized immigrants.
5. Mexico ranks on the top as the origin country of the U.S. immigrant population. The next largest origin groups were those from China (6%), India (6%), the Philippines (4%) and El Salvador (3%). (For more, click here)
6. Other regions which make up a smaller share include: Europe/Canada (13%), the Caribbean (10%), Central America (8%), South America (7%), the Middle East (4%) and sub-Saharan Africa (4%).
7. Immigrants from South and East Asia, Europe, Canada, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa are more likely than U.S.-born residents to have a bachelor’s or advanced degree.
8. According to a recent Pew Research Center report, the United States was home to 10.7 million unauthorized immigrants in 2016, a 13% decline from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007. (For more, click here)
9. Although the vast majority of immigrants in the U.S. are in the country legally, only 45% of Americans in a survey conducted by PRC in June 2018 correctly said most immigrants were in the country legally. (For more, click here)
10. Most Americans, that is 71%, hold a positive outlook on undocumented immigrants and see them holding jobs that American citizens do not want and approximately 65% say undocumented immigrants are not more likely than U.S. citizens to commit serious crimes. (For more, click here)

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.  It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.  To learn more about Pew Research Center and its research, go to http://www.pewresearch.org.

The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc. (ACEI), was founded in 1994 and is based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. ACEI provides a number of services that include evaluations of international academic credentials for U.S. educational equivalence, translation, verification, and professional training programs. ACEI is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators. For more information, visit www.acei-global.org.