Immigrants to Make Up 88 Percent of U.S. Population Growth by 2065

Brittany M. Hughes | September 28, 2015
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According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center released Monday, immigrants accounted for more than half of the entire nation’s population growth in the past half-century, and will account for 88 percent of the U.S. population growth by 2065.

From Pew:

Looking ahead, new Pew Research Center U.S. population projections show that if current demographic trends continue, future immigrants and their descendants will be an even bigger source of population growth. Between 2015 and 2065, they are projected to account for 88% of the U.S. population increase, or 103 million people, as the nation grows to 441 million.

 

Pew

Pew also notes toward the end of its study that "This report’s estimates and projections of foreign-born residents in the U.S. comprise both legal and unauthorized immigrants."

About 59 million immigrants have come to the United States since the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed during Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency in 1965, Pew reports. The law made sweeping reforms to the nation's immigration system, which replaced the previous "National Origins" system of immigration (which preferred immigration from some countries over others) with a new system that focused on skilled labor and family reunification. 

At the time, President Johnson, a Democrat, promised, "This bill that we will sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not affect the lives of millions."

 

In the years that followed, the foreign-born population of the country from about 9.6 million (4.8 percent) in 1965 to 45 million (14 percent) in the last 50 years, Pew notes. The rising immigration numbers have also contributed to changing demographics, as the Hispanic population has quickly risen from just four percent in 1965 to 18 percent in 2015. The past fifty years have also seen a bump in the Asian population, which increased from one to six percent in that same time frame.

According to the study, immigrants are expected to account for about one in five persons in the United States by 2065.

Pew also notes the United States has the largest immigrant population in the entire world, accounting for about one in five immigrants globally.

 

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