Study Says Most U.S. Population Growth Due to Immigration

By David Briscoe, Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press, June 12, 1993

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legal and illegal immigration accounts for the bulk of U.S. population growth, with America's foreign-born population increasing at about four times the rate of the nation as a whole, a study shows.

A report by the private Center for Immigration Studies estimates annual immigration growth at 17.6 percent. The figure is based on Census statistics as well as a variety of information about legal and illegal immigration.

"We're just beginning to see the effects of changes in immigration laws" in 1986 and 1990 that liberalized entry proceedings, said Jessica Vaughan, assistant director of the Washington-based center, which does population research and policy analysis.

Without immigration, the U.S. population would stabilize at about 300 million by 2030. With it, it's expected to approach 400 million by 2050, the report said.

The U.S. population growth rate is estimated at about 1 percent a year, but the growth in the foreign-born population has reached 4.2 percent. There were 1.2 million immigrants in fiscal 1992, which ended Sept. 30, the report said.

U.S. Census Bureau projections are somewhat lower. The government count shows 810,635 legal immigrants last year, including 348,553 from Asia, 143,729 from Europe and 24,826 from Africa. The largest influxes from single countries were 91,332 from Mexico, 77,728 from Vietnam and 59,179 from the Philippines.

Ms. Vaughan said the increase in immigration in the 1992 fiscal year over 1991 was due largely to increases in the number of people accepted on humanitarian, family or work grounds.

The number of illegal-alien apprehensions rose by 5 percent, to 1.2 million last year, indicating a rise in illegal entrants, the report said. It estimated that about 300,000 illegal immigrants add to the U.S. population each year.

The U.S. population for mid-1993 is projected at 257.6 million, with foreign-born residents totaling 22.4 million.

In the most recent Census in 1990, only 40 percent of foreign-born Americans had become U.S. citizens.

The report said U.S. acceptance of more than 100,000 refugees a year on humanitarian grounds - more than any other country - "does not dent the number of over 18 million persons worldwide who currently are seeking refuge."

Growth in the population of countries in Central and South America "will exacerbate already existing pressures to seek employment in the United States and fuel the pressure on our borders," the report said.