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Immigrants in the United States — 2000: The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) –– America's foreign-born population swelled to more than 28.3 million last year, with the majority arriving from Latin America and Asia, new Census Bureau estimates being released Wednesday show. The number of foreign-born residents in America was up from 26.4 million in 1999, the report said. About 1 of every 10 persons in America last year was born outside the country. The estimates released Wednesday were based on an annual survey taken last March by the statistical agency, and were not results from Census 2000. Official Census 2000 numbers on foreign-born residents could be released by the end of this year. A separate survey released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies, based on census figures, found that while the biggest immigrant populations were in California, New York and Florida, states with fast-growing populations overall like Colorado, North Carolina and Nevada each experienced jumps of more than 180 percent since 1990. The percentage of immigrants among Americans has increased steadily since 1970, from 4.7 percent to 10.4 percent in 2000, according to the center, a Washington-based think tank that supports stricter controls on immigration. Mark Mather, an analyst with the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit Washington research group, said that states along the coasts and with big urban centers continue to attract the most newcomers to America. But, "the foreign-born population is increasing everywhere," Mather said. "They are moving out of the coastal areas, but it's a slow process." About 37 percent of foreign-born residents were naturalized citizens, the Census Bureau said in its report. More than 30 percent of those naturalized citizens over age 25 had at least a bachelor's degree, more than the roughly 26 percent of native-born Americans over 25 with a college degree. However, only 22 percent of immigrants over 25 without citizenship graduated from college. Foreign-born residents, regardless of citizenship, were less likely to have a high school diploma: about 87 percent of U.S.-born residents graduated from high school in March 2000, compared with 76 percent of naturalized foreign-born residents, and nearly 60 percent of those without citizenship. The Census Bureau also found: –21.3 percent of resident noncitizens lived below the poverty line, compared with 9.1 percent of naturalized citizens, and 11.2 percent of native-born Americans. –24.2 percent of all foreign-born Central Americans living in the country were impoverished. The majority of Central Americans are from Mexico. The Center for Immigration Studies found that 32.5 percent of U.S. residents born in the Dominican Republic lived in poverty, along with 25.8 percent of residents born in Mexico. Also, 33.4 percent of all immigrants were without health insurance in March 2000, the center said. That included 57.4 percent of those from El Salvador, and 52.6 percent of those from Mexico. "On the immigration side, we need to ask whether we want to grow our population this way. I think we don't, so I think we need to do a whole lot more to control illegal immigration," said Steven Camarota, a researcher with the center. "We need to have a policy that selects immigrants on skills and ability to compete rather than a policy that puts all or most of its emphasis on family relationships."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The number of immigrants living in the United States has more than tripled since 1970 to over 28 million -- the largest number in U.S. history, according to a new study issued on Wednesday. The report by the Center for Immigration Studies analyzed Census Bureau data collected last year. It found that 28.4 million immigrants now live in the United States accounting for 10.4 percent of the total population, the highest percentage in 70 years. Immigration has emerged as a hot political issue in recent years. In California, voters in 1994 supported a proposition to deny health, education and social services to illegal immigrants and their children, but it was struck down by the courts. Most Republican and Democratic leaders currently support legal immigration but adamantly oppose the illegal influx of hundreds of thousands of people each year across the U.S. border with Mexico. However, efforts to beef up border controls have not proved successful. "While immigration's impact continues to be the subject of intense national debate, there can be no doubt that the large number of immigrants now living in the United States represents an enormous challenge,'' said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies. "With more than half of post-1970 immigrants and their U.S.-born children living in or near poverty and one third having no health insurance, the situation for immigrant families is clearly precarious. "With the economy slowing, the situation for immigrant families is likely to deteriorate dramatically and the costs of immigration to become glaringly apparent,'' Camarota said. Over a million newcomers each year The data showed more than 1.2 million newcomers settle legally or illegally in the United States each year with the vast majority going to a few states, notably California, New York, Florida and Texas. "These new data confirm what many Americans are seeing with their own eyes -- the United States is in the midst of the largest sustained wave of immigration in its history,'' said Camarota. The 11.2 million immigrants who had arrived since 1990 and their 6.4 million children accounted for almost 70 percent of U.S. population growth over the decade. The United States is now issuing 700,000 to 900,000 permanent residency visas each year but up to half a million more immigrants enter the country illegally. The immigrant population grew by a record 5.7 million in the 1980s and by 8.6 million in the 1990s, another record. Immigrants account for almost 26 percent of the population of California, 20 percent of New York, 18 percent of Florida, 16 percent of Hawaii and 15 percent of Nevada and Arizona. Immigrants are also a major presence in several major cities. They account for 30 percent of the population of Los Angeles, 23 percent of New York City, 28 percent of San Francisco, 43 percent of Miami and 12 percent of Chicago. Mexico accounted for 28 percent of all immigrants. The second largest source country was China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, with just under 5 percent. That was followed by the Philippines with 4 percent and India with 3.5 percent. In 1998, almost 30 percent of immigrants in the labor force did not have a high school diploma, more than three times the rate for natives. But almost 11 percent of new arrivals held graduate or professional degrees. The report found that over 62 percent of newcomers from Mexico lived
below or near the poverty line, two-and-a-half times the rate for natives.
Almost 53 percent had no health insurance.
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WASHINGTON – An analysis of population data by Center for Immigration Studies showed a 43 percent increase in the number of foreign-born residents living in the United States since 1990, the highest number of immigrants living within its borders in the nation's history. The study, "Immigrants in the United States 2000: A Snapshot of America's Foreign Born Population," stated that 28.4 million immigrants reside in the United State, a 43 percent increase over the last decade. "It is sometimes equated with turn-of-the-century immigration, which used to be called the new immigration," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of Center for Immigration Studies. The nonpartisan Center for Immigration Studies conducts research and policy analysis of the effect of immigration on the United States. Steven A. Camorata, CIS director of immigration studies, said the government determined how many people enter the country through its federal policies. Camorata estimated that about 1.2 million legal immigrants and illegal aliens settle in the United States each year, with the number living in the United States tripling since 1970 from 9.6 million to 28.4 million last year, according to researchers. Researchers could not say how many of the immigrants living in the United States were doing so without legal status. "That number may be low, as recent arrivals are the least likely to be counted," Camorata said. Researchers found California had the highest percentage of foreign-born residents in the country, 8.7 million, or 26 percent; followed by New York with 19.6 million, or 19.6 percent; and Florida with 2.7 million immigrants, or 18.3 percent. People born in Mexico make up 27.7 percent of the immigrant population in the United States, the report said. Immigrants from East Asia make up 17.9 percent, followed by those born in Europe, who make up 15.3 percent of U.S. immigrants. Camorata attributed the increased wave of immigration to better communication and travel technology that allows people virtually to live in two places at once, loosening of immigration laws under the Clinton administration, and an increase in illegal aliens. He also said that rapid rise in people moving to the United States had help spur sprawl, congestion and the loss of open green space. "It's not the only reason, but it has an impact," Camorata said. While the report did not give recommendations for slowing the number of illegal aliens entering the country, Krikorian said the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service should channel funding into more than just border controls. The agency should also police businesses that hire illegal aliens and restructure the temporary visa program. "Most of INS money goes to border patrols because folks like to see people at the borders in the Smokey the Bear hats," Krikorian said. The majority of those migrating to the United States tend to come from Spanish-speaking countries, have little education and live in poverty once they arrive in the country. The poverty rate for immigrants is 50 percent higher than that of native-born residents, the study said. About 29.8 percent of all immigrants have less than a high school education, compared to 8 percent of those born in the United States, the report said. The increased numbers of immigrant children in schools has stressed resources because it can cost more to educate non-English-speaking children, Camorata said. About 8.6 million school-age children from immigrant families attend government schools in the U.S., the report said. Immigrants have a median annual income of about $23,000, compared to $30,440 for native-born residents. Foreign-born residents over the age of 25 years are about 1 percent less likely to be self-employed. About 10.7 percent of all immigrants have their own businesses, compared to 11.6 percent of native-born people over age 25. Still more than half of the post-1970 immigrants and their children live in or near poverty, compared to 28 percent of natives, the report said. One-third of immigrant households have no health insurance coverage,
2.5 times the rate for those born in the United States, the report said.
Immigrants arriving after 1989 and their U.S.-born children account for
a 60 percent increase in the size of the uninsured population.
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WASHINGTON -- There has been a dramatic increase in immigrants in the United States over the past three decades, both in numbers and as a percentage of the national population, according to a report released Thursday. The report by the Center for Immigration Studies - a non-partisan research group that has been critical of U.S. immigration policy - found that the immigrant population in the United States. is at an all-time high even compared to the great wave of immigration in the early 20th century. With more than half of post-1970 immigrants and their U.S.-born children living in or near poverty, the report warns that "the situation for immigrant families is clearly precarious.'' The findings "confirm what many Americans are seeing with their own eyes - the United States is in the midst of the largest sustained wave of immigration in its history,'' said Steven Camarota, author of the report. "Because current policy allows in so many people who lack a formal education, immigration has resulted in an enormous growth in the poor and uninsured populations,'' Camarota said. "The question has to be asked: Is the country well served by our current immigration policy?'' Angela Kelley of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigrant advocacy group, said the report ignores the overwhelming benefits of immigration and research that shows today's immigrants are assimilating into American society at rates similar to previous generations of immigrants. "If life were just based on the snapshot the Center for Immigration Studies is taking today I would be worried, but there is a whole lot that they are overlooking,'' Kelley said. "If you look at immigrants over time, the evidence is that they succeed ... and that's true of today's immigrants, as well,'' Kelley said. Among the report's findings: - There are 28.4 million immigrants living in the United States, the largest number ever in the nation's history. As a percentage of the population, immigrants now account for more than one in 10 residents, the highest percentage in 70 years. - The number of immigrants living in the United States has more than tripled since 1970, from 9.6 million to 28.4 million. As a percentage of the U.S. population, immigrants have more than doubled, from 4.7 percent in 1970 to 10.4 percent in 2000. - The number of immigrants living in the United States is unprecedented. Even at the peak of the great wave of early 20th century immigration, the number of immigrants living here. was less than half what it is today (13.5 million in 1910). - Immigration accounts for virtually all of the national increase in public school enrollment over the last two decades. In 2000, there were 8.6 million school-age children from immigrant families. - Immigration is the primary cause of U.S. population growth. The 11.2 million immigrants who arrived between 1990 and 2000 plus the 6.4 million children born to immigrants in the United States during the 1990s are equal to almost 70 percent of population growth over the last 10 years. - The poverty rate for immigrants is 50 percent higher than that of
natives, with immigrants and their U.S.-born children under age 21 accounting
for 22 percent of all persons living in poverty.
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The furious pace of foreign immigration is raising fears that Arizona is becoming a "new Appalachia" - a pocket of poverty in a nation of plenty. While one research group warns that its latest data show immigration's effects on the state are "pretty stark" in terms of a drain on taxes, education, health care and welfare, defenders of immigration dismiss the image as exaggerated and unfair to the vital role immigrants play in the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, an emigre Arizona State University professor who sees validity in both positions expressed concern that the economic straits of the growing underclass run counter to the American way. Wherever the balanced perspective lies, the outlook for the state contains more perils than were evident 10 years ago. "Arizona is approaching Mississippi in the percentage of people living at or near poverty, and it's the direct result of a high level of immigration," said Steven A. Camarota, research director of the Center for Immigration Studies. The Washington, D.C.-based think tank estimated last week that Arizona is home to about 630,000 immigrants, both legal and illegal. The total exploded 126 percent since 1990, more than three times the rate of the state's 40 percent overall growth. Today, one of eight Arizona residents is foreign born, compared with one in 13 a decade ago. Nationally, the ratio is about one in 10. For both the state and nation, the proportion of foreign-born is the highest since the 1930s. About one-fourth of the Arizona immigrants are in this country illegally, Camarota said. He emphasized that although his organization advocates stricter controls on immigration, it believes the nation can and should absorb more immigrants than any other country. But Arizona's job supply and proximity to Mexico have put it in the cellar in terms of immigrants' wherewithal, he said. "Arizona is very striking in its levels of poverty, lack of health care insurance and its proportion of welfare recipients among immigrants," Camarota said. "In every case, the percentages for immigrants are at least twice the rate for native-born residents." "You find this to a smaller extent across parts of Southern California and west Texas," Camarota said, "but the overall question is, 'Is Arizona becoming the new Appalachia?' " Roberto Martinez, director of the 18-year-old U.S.-Mexico Border Program, said, "This comes up every few years." "What it fails to address is that all immigrants started this way," said Martinez, a San Diego-based advocated for immigrant rights and humane treatment. "The Europeans didn't come with riches; they had to work their way up." Martinez said cheap labor supplied by immigrants is one reason for record economic expansion in the past 10 years. And California's $40 billion agricultural economy would die without immigrant labor, he said. "People shouldn't look at it (immigration) as a negative, but a positive," Martinez said. "Keep in mind that they pay taxes; they pay their way." Immigrants work hard and perform many of the jobs shunned by native-born Americans, experts acknowledge, but recent studies have questioned whether the benefits outweigh the costs, Camarota said. Schools especially feel the effects. Nearly one-fourth of Arizona's schoolchildren today are from immigrant families, and high birth rates among immigrants will swell classrooms even more. Thirty percent of the state's children under age 5 were born of immigrants, he said. According to a 1995 state population projection, more than 500,000 immigrants will settle in the state in the next 25 years, a figure that may be understated, considering the escalated rate of immigration in the past decade. Although illegal immigrants don't qualify for welfare, 20 percent of legal immigrants receive some form of public assistance, according to the center. That's double the rate of Arizonans who are U.S. natives. Josefina Figueira-McDonough, a native of Portugal who holds a dual professorship in justice studies and social work at ASU, lamented that immigrants often don't receive fair treatment in return for their contributions. "To the extent that state policies don't reach out to this population, they are extremely deprived," she said. "If people work and pay taxes, they should have the services," she said. Many minorities, as well as immigrants, "have a lot of trouble moving up," she said. "The minimum wage won't support a family, and many women have to take care of children and get a job. Some are living in shacks. It's a punitive approach to poverty. In ethical terms, it's cruel, just plain cruel." Immigrants come for jobs, and their cheap labor widens the gap between what Camarota calls "native haves" and "immigrant have-nots." "The underclass is growing and won't go away," Figueira-McDonough said. "The inequality is huge, and it goes against the American ideology." Camarota said 64 percent of Arizona's immigrants are from Mexico, a nation of higher poverty and lower educational attainment than many other countries. Figueira-McDonough said she sees some "double talk" in immigration policy. "At the same time we tell foreigners we don't want them here, this country with huge power has never closed the borders. "Policies go up and down. For a while, we made a big show of saying
employers would be prosecuted for hiring illegals. That lasted a month,
maybe."
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America's population growth slowed steadily in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, but it has suddenly climbed back to levels that surprised even officials at the United States Census Bureau. What happened? The just-released 2000 Census found that the US added 32.7 million people in the 1990s. That's more than 3 million persons a year. The US population total of 281,421,906 now is expected to surge to 300 million by 2006 and to more than 400 million by 2050. This accelerating growth won't be fully explained until the Census Bureau releases detailed data from its 2000 survey later this year. Meanwhile, some analysts have pointed to the "baby boom echo" - descendants of the baby boomers - as a principal factor in the population bulge. However, demographers downplay the "echo" factor. They say there is clearly one primary cause of growth of this magnitude: large-scale immigration. The effects of immigration are being manifested most dramatically in California, Texas, and Florida. Peter Morrison, a demographer at RAND in California, says that in addition to those Sun Belt states, immigration has also begun to feed population growth in the interior regions of the country. Thousands of immigrants are showing up looking for jobs at meat packing plants in Iowa, farms in Kansas, and factories in Missouri. Although the short-term effects of immigration can be dramatic, it is the long-term implications that may be the real population story for America. Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, says that new arrivals in the US during the 1990s accounted for at least 10 million, and perhaps as many as 13 million, of the 32.7 million residents America has added in the census count. The birthrate factor But Mr. Camarota estimates that recent immigrants also gave birth to approximately 7 million children in the US in the 1990s. Added together, this means that 1990s immigrants, combined with children born to recent immigrants, accounted for as many as 20 million - or nearly two-thirds - of America's growth during the past decade. Without immigration during the past 30 years, Camarota says America's population now would be "modestly stable." That's because birthrates among non-immigrants are near replacement levels, meaning that they are neither adding to nor subtracting from the total population. Birthrates among immigrants are far higher. Needed: new schools The Department of Education notes that recent population growth is driving up the number of students so rapidly that US schools are on the threshold of a century of continuous growth. A department study says: "This record growth in the student population will translate to new demands on colleges and universities, which are already feeling the pressure. Full-time college enrollment is projected to increase by 19 percent in the next 10 years. The state university system of Florida expects up to 100,000 additional students by 2010." It continues: "Unlike the 20th century, when enrollment rose and dipped repeatedly, growth in the 21st century will be constant. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of school-age children 5 to 17 years old will increase by 6 percent. In 2020, about 55 million children will be enrolled in our nation's schools, and this number will rise to 60 million by 2030." Immigration also largely explains why the South and West together picked up over 25 million new residents during the past decade, while the Northeast and Midwest - not nearly as popular with newcomers - gained only 7.5 million. No surge in Golden State Even so, growth in California, the most popular state for immigrants, rose only 13.8 percent to 33.9 million. One possible reason: Many people left the state for other parts of the country after California went through a severe recession. Immigration helped Texas solidify its position as the second-most-populous state, with 20.9 million residents, well ahead of No. 3 New York's 19 million. Meanwhile, immigrant-rich Florida surged to just under 16 million, making it No. 4, and putting the Sunshine State in position to overtake New York in the next 10 to 15 years. Rounding out the 10 largest states were Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, and Georgia - but there was some shuffling among those states. Illinois moved ahead of Pennsylvania, while Georgia climbed into the top 10 by nudging out another fast-growing state, North Carolina. The Tarheel State dropped to 11th, even though it grew by 21 percent, or 1.4 million people, in the past decade. Georgia was up 26 percent, or 1.7 million. Virginia (12), Massachusetts (13), and Indiana (14) held their positions in the population ranking of states, but the state of Washington vaulted from 18th to 15th place. Following Washington were Tennessee (16), Missouri (17), Wisconsin (18),
and Maryland (19). Arizona, a retirement mecca, grew by 40 percent, and
climbed from 24th to 20th - pushing Minnesota out of the top-20 most-populous
states.
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The nation's foreign-born population reached 28 million last year, with nearly two of every five immigrants arriving in the past decade, according to newly released census data. This rapid immigration has led to the largest foreign-born population in U.S. history. Still, immigrants were a larger proportion of the populace 100 years ago. Reports to be released today in Washington by the Census Bureau and the nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies show that the nation's foreign-born population is growing rapidly, with more than half, or 51 percent, coming from Latin America. "The reason the U.S. population is growing now in a way other industrialized countries don't is because 1.2 to 1.3 million people are coming each year," said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies. The center's analysis of the immigrant population is also based on Census Bureau data taken from a survey conducted last March. The data unveiled today are a prelude to the more detailed figures from Census 2000 that will be released later this year. According to Camarota, there were 3.6 million immigrants in New York state last year, making up about 20 percent of the population. New York was second only to California in the size of its foreign-born population. In New York, this reflects a 26.3 percent increase from the 2.85 million immigrants residing in the state in 1990. "New York state doesn't lose congressional seats in the way it would otherwise lose them because of out-migration," Camarota said. Last week, the Census Bureau announced that New York would lose two congressional seats starting in the 2003 session because its population growth was outpaced by the increases in other states. In the New York metropolitan area, which includes New York City, Connecticut and parts of Long Island, New Jersey and upstate New York, there were 4.7 million foreign-born residents, making up about 23 percent of the total population, Camarota said. Nationally, of the 28.4 million immigrants, 11.2 million arrived in the 1990s, according to the Census Bureau. The foreign-born population in 2000 made up 10.4 percent of the U.S. population. While the number of foreign-born residents in the United States is unprecedented, the percentage of the population residing in the country was greater a century ago. In 1900, immigrants numbered 10.3 million but made up 13.6 percent of the population, according to Camarota. For him, these figures also signify that immigrants are not returning to their native countries in the numbers they did at the end of the 19th Century. Advances in transportation and communication partly account for this, he said. "People can visit, people can call home, so people don't actually go home," Camarota said. ********
Colorado's foreign-born population nearly tripled this past decade and is growing faster than any other state's, according to an analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau data. In 1990, 142,000 or 4.3 percent of Coloradans were born abroad. Last year, 413,000 or nearly 10 percent were born abroad. The newcomers arrived from all over, with the greatest numbers from Mexico, East Asia, Europe and Africa. They're changing the face of almost every street: a hockey-loving Denver bus driver from Mexico, an Ethiopian woman who cooks spicy meats on East Colfax, a cancer researcher from Russia who also runs a newspaper. The influx over the past decade was far more pronounced than in traditionally international states such as New York and California. And considering the rapidly increasing foreign migration into other interior states such as Nevada, Kentucky, Iowa and Arizona, experts at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank analyzing Census Bureau data, see the makings of a major demographic shift. "The places that are attracting a lot of immigrants that are nontraditional places generally have the characteristics of Colorado: good labor market and a relatively low cost of living," said Steven Camarota, research director at the center. "And Colorado has reached a critical mass in terms of networks of immigrants. Immigrants are drawn in by the economy and by the networks. Middle America now is experiencing a lot more immigration." Colorado ranked 13th among states on number of foreign-born residents. California had the most, followed by New York, Florida and Texas. The new numbers come from a population survey conducted last year by the Census Bureau - separate from the bureau's once-a-decade population count. The figures were broken down state-by-state and analyzed this month at the Center for Immigration Studies. The bureau plans to release more data on the foreignborn population over the next two years. It might seem as if Colorado's fast-growing foreign-born population is a factor in the state's overall population growth last decade by 31 percent to 4.3 million. More than 1 million new residents gave Colorado the third-fastest-growing population behind Nevada and Arizona. Actually, foreign migration into Colorado - including births to immigrants - accounts for about one-third of population growth here, Camarota said. Nationally, foreign migration plus births play a larger role, accounting for about two-thirds of U.S. population growth. For The Denver Post, the Center for Immigration Studies conducted some additional analysis of foreign-born population survey data obtained from the Census Bureau. Among the findings: About 223,000 or 54 percent of the foreign-born population resides in the Denver area. Poverty and education levels of newcomers vary widely. African, European and South American-born Coloradans over 21 generally had completed at least high school, but 62 percent of Mexicanborn Coloradans had not completed high school. About a third of African-born Coloradans lived below the official poverty line, as did 24 percent of Mexican-born Coloradans. Three percent of Europeanborn Coloradans lived in poverty. Of the 413,000 foreign-born Coloradans, 234,000 or 57 percent moved here during the 1990s, often after settling in other states. Colorado stands out nationally with a higher-than-average share of Mexican-born
and African-born residents. About 43 percent of foreign-born Coloradans
came from Mexico - compared with 28 percent nationally. About 6.5 percent
of foreign-born Coloradans came from Africa - compared with 2 percent nationally.
East Asianborn Coloradans made up 12 percent of the foreign-born population
- compared with 18 percent nationwide.
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WASHINGTON (EFE) -- The 18.8 million immigrants who have settled in the United States since 1970 face a "clearly precarious" situation, with more than half living in poverty and many lacking health insurance, according to a study released on Thursday. Steven Camarota, research director at the privately funded Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), told a press conference Thursday that the large number of immigrants now residing in the United States "represents an enormous challenge," owing to the disadvantaged status of many newcomers. He said that over half of the 18.8 million immigrants arriving in the country since 1970 and their U.S.-born children are living at or below the poverty line, while a third of them have no health insurance. Camarota said that some have tried to ignore these facts during the long expansion, even knowing that the costs of immigration will be become very clear in the case of an eventual economic downturn. According to his analysis, without changes in immigration policy, the U.S. Census Bureau prediction of an additional 11-12 million newcomers in the next decade alone will be fulfilled. He added that if current trends persist, the impact of immigration on all aspects of national life would continue to grow. The CIS study is based on a March 2000 Census Bureau survey that included a high percentage of Hispanics, who, at an estimated 31 million, constitute the nation's fastest-growing minority. There are now 28.4 million foreign-born residents in the United States - the highest number in the country's history - and they account for 43 percent of the total increase in the U.S. population since 1990. Officials statistics show that one in every 10 U.S. inhabitants was born outside the country, which is the highest ratio in 70 years. Camarota said that CIS research indicates over 1.2 million legal and illegal immigrants arrive in the country every year. Regarding levels of education, the study found that while around 87 percent of native U.S. citizens have high school diplomas, the figure for naturalized citizens is 76 percent, while that for foreign-born residents who are not naturalized the figure is only 60 percent. At the same time, poverty rates among immigrants are 50 percent higher than those for those born here, and the proportion of immigrants relying on public assistance is 30-50 percent above that of those born in the United States. Many of those immigrants with low levels of education also have trouble in securing higher paying jobs, due to their lack of specialized skills. Although the actual of number of immigrants is the largest in U.S. history, they are fewer in relation to the total population than in the second decade of the 20th century, when the foreign-born accounted for 12 percent of the nation's people. "These new data confirm what many Americans see with their own eyes: the country is in the midst of the largest sustained wave of immigration in its history," Camarota said.
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