Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
MARCH 13, 2024
SPOTLIGHT
By Jeanne Batalova
Immigration has been a contested public policy issue at various points in U.S. history and has been elevated to a top concern for the public amid recent record encounters of asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. High numbers and sustained arrivals through various pathways, including legal avenues, have caused a strain on the immigration system, as well as on municipal services in key U.S. cities and towns that have become leading destinations for recent arrivals. Yet other communities, though, are welcoming immigrants, seeing them as sources of demographic, economic, and civic vitality.
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Legal immigration, both temporary and permanent, has rebounded from the decline that began in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration’s restrictive policies and rhetoric. In some cases the new flows have exceeded earlier levels. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, the State Department issued 10.4 million temporary visas for tourists, international students, and others, up from 8.7 million in FY 2019. Inside the United States, the 969,000 immigrants who became citizens in FY 2022, after spending years as lawful permanent residents (LPRs, or green-card holders), represented the largest naturalization total since FY 2008.
Worldwide, the United States is home to more international migrants than any other country, and more than the next four countries—Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Kingdom—combined, according to the most recent UN Population Division data, from mid-2020. While the U.S. population represents about 5 percent of the total world population, close to 20 percent of all global migrants reside in the United States.
This Spotlight offers information about the approximately 46.2 million immigrants in the United States as of 2022, more than three-quarters of whom are in the country legally. Drawing from the most authoritative and current data available, this article offers an overview of historic immigration trends in the United States, sociodemographic information about who is immigrating, and the channels through which they arrive. It also provides data on the government’s enforcement actions and visa processing.
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states#destinations
