New Study Says 24% of American Children have at least One Immigrant Parent
A new study from the Migration Policy Institute shows the impact of immigration on U.S. population growth. According to data, 17 million of the nation's 70 million children under the age of 17 have at least one immigrant parent. That equates to roughly one of every four children in the U.S. The report also found that immigrants make up 13% of the nation's total population, up from 5% in 1970.
The percent of immigrants to total U.S. population is close to the largest percent in U.S. history, which was recorded in 1890 - the height of the Great Wave.
Some key findings from the new Migration Policy Institute's report:
- 35% of the 40 million immigrants currently living in the U.S. have come since 2000.
- The median age of immigrants living in the U.S. is higher than the age of U.S.-born citizens. The median age of immigrants is 41.4 compared to 35.9 of the U.S.-born.
- Roughly the same percentage of immigrants over the age of 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher as compared to U.S.-born citizens (27% of immigrants vs. 28% of U.S.born citizens), but the percentage of immigrants over the age of 25 without a high school diploma is nearly three times the percentage of U.S.-born citizens (32% of immigrants vs. 11% of U.S.-born citizens).
- In 2010, 34% of immigrants did not have health insurance compared with 13% of U.S.-born citizens without health insurance.
- 6.8 million of the 13.4 million immigrants that don't have health insurance are in the country illegally.
- There were 160 million non-immigrant admissions to the United States in 2010. These are foreign nationals who visit the United States for purposes of business or tourism.
For more information, see the full report from the Migration Policy Institute.