Foreign-born Population Hits Record 47 Million
Up 2 million under Biden, two-thirds from illegal immigration

Washington, D.C. (June 1, 2022) – A new Center for Immigration Studies analysis shows that the total foreign-born population reached 47 million in April of 2022 — the highest number in American history. As a share of the total U.S. population, the foreign born is at a 112-year high, and is on pace to hit the highest percentage ever by September next year. The foreign-born includes all persons who are not U.S. citizens at birth, including illegal immigrants.

“The increase in the foreign-born in recent months is truly extraordinary, and most of the growth is coming from illegal immigration as a consequence of administration policies. If present trends continue, the foreign-born share of the U.S. population will surpass any level in American history — the country is headed into uncharted territory,” said Dr. Steven Camarota, co-author of the report and the Center’s Director of Research.

The Center’s analysis uses the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) or “household survey”. Unlike administrative numbers like arrival figures for legal immigrants or border apprehensions, the CPS measures the actual number of legal and illegal immigrants living in the country, which is what ultimately determines immigration’s impact on American society.

Among the findings:

• The 47 million foreign-born residents (legal and illegal) in April of 2022 is the largest number ever recorded in any U.S. government survey or decennial census. 
• The total foreign-born population increased by two million in the first 16 months of the Biden administration — growing twice as fast as the U.S.-born population. 
• We estimate that illegal immigrants accounted for two-thirds of the growth, or 1.35 million people, in the foreign-born population since January 2021. 
• Taking a longer view, since 2000, the total foreign-born population has grown by 50 percent; it has doubled since 1990, tripled since 1980, and quintupled since 1970. 
• As a share of the total population, the foreign-born now account for 14.3 percent of the population, or one in seven U.S. residents — the highest percentage in 112 years. As recently as 1990 they were one in 13 U.S. residents. 
• If present trends continue, the foreign-born share of the population will reach 14.9 percent of the U.S. population in September next year, higher than at any time in the nation’s 246-year history. 
• On average the foreign born has grown by 132,000 a month since President Biden took office, compared to 59,000 per month in Obama’s first term, 76,000 per month in Obama’s second term and 42,000 per month under Trump before Covid-19 hit. 
• The recent dramatic increase is striking because for the foreign-born population to grow at all, new arrivals must exceed both out-migration and deaths, as all births to immigrants in the U.S., by definition, add only to the native-born population. 
• While much of the recent increase in the total foreign-born population is due to illegal immigration, those in the country legally still account for three-fourths of all foreign-born residents. 
• The states with the largest increase in the total foreign-born population from January 2021 to April 2022 are California (up 527,000), Florida (up 390,000), Pennsylvania (up 375,000), Michigan (up 247,000), Georgia (up 152,000), Arizona (up 148,000), New York (up 145,000), Tennessee (up 130,000), and South Carolina (up 128,000).