Immigration : In a significant demographic shift, immigrants from India have edged ahead of their Chinese counterparts in the United States, according to the latest census figures. This development underscores the dynamic nature of immigration trends in the US. The data, released in July 2022, paints a compelling picture of the evolving immigrant landscape in the country.
As of July 2022, immigrants, encompassing both legal and illegal residents, now comprise approximately 13.9 percent of the total US population. This means that roughly one out of every seven individuals residing in the US is foreign-born.
The census recorded approximately 2.84 million Indian immigrants, reflecting a 4.8 percent increase from the previous year’s count of 2.709 million. In contrast, Chinese immigrants saw a more modest increase of 79,000, bringing their total to 2.83 million, a nearly 3 percent rise.
Immigration & Mexican Immigrant
While the Mexican immigrant population remains the largest among all immigrant groups, with 10.68 million individuals, constituting 23 percent of the immigrant population, there was a slight decrease of less than 1 percent compared to the previous year’s statistics.
Comparing the numbers from the top three countries—Mexico, India, and China—immigration from Afghanistan and Venezuela appears relatively lower, with 407,000 and 670,000 immigrants, respectively.
However, it’s important to note that due to a significant influx of asylum seekers and refugees from these two countries, there has been a substantial percentage increase in 2022 compared to the data from 2021. Afghanistan saw a staggering 229 percent increase, while Venezuela experienced a 22 percent rise.
It’s worth mentioning that the immigrant share of the US population only rose by 0.3 percentage points from July 2021 to July 2022, going from 13.6 percent to 13.9 percent.
Over the last decade (2012–2022), the growth in the immigrant share of the population was the lowest ever, increasing by only 0.7 percentage points. This growth rate has decreased by 76 percent since the 1990s, providing context for recent immigration trends in the US, as highlighted by David J Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies at Cato Institute.
Also Read : UK : Immigration and Nationality Fees to Increase from 4 October