2015, Foreign-Born Population in the United States Statistical Portrait
There were a record 43.2 million immigrants living in the U.S. in 2015, making up 13.4% of the nation’s population.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Immigration Issues
All
Immigration Issues
Publications
-
-
Key facts about the U.S. H-1B visa program
Almost 1.8 million H-1B visas have been distributed in fiscal years 2001 through 2015. Here are some key facts about the current H-1B visa program.
-
As Mexican share declined, U.S. unauthorized immigrant population fell in 2015 below recession level
As the Mexican share of the total declined, the unauthorized immigrant population in the U.S. in 2015 was smaller than when the Great Recession ended.
-
Public Supports Syria Missile Strikes, but Few See a ‘Clear Plan’ for Addressing Situation
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are about three times as likely as Republicans and Republican leaners to say the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees from Syria.
-
Immigration offenses make up a growing share of federal arrests
Federal law enforcement agencies are making more arrests for immigration-related offenses and fewer arrests for other types of offenses – including drug, property and gun crimes – than they were a decade ago.
-
The fading of the green: Fewer Americans identify as Irish
The ranks of Americans who trace their ancestry back to Ireland – long one of the most prominent subgroups in American society – are slowly declining.
-
Immigrants don’t make up a majority of workers in any U.S. industry
Immigrants made up 17.2% of the total U.S. workforce in 2014, or about 27 million workers. Private households were the biggest immigrant-employing “industry,” followed by textile, apparel and leather manufacturers and the farm sector.
-
European asylum applications remained near record levels in 2016
In 2016, European Union countries, Norway and Switzerland received more than 1.2 million asylum applications, below the record 1.3 million applications received in 2015.
-
In Trump presidency, nearly 2,500 refugees have entered U.S. from six travel-restricted countries
The number of refugees from the six travel-restricted countries represents 32% of all refugees who have entered the U.S. since Trump took office.
-
Since travel order lifted, more than 1,800 refugees from affected countries have entered U.S.
More than 1,800 refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have resettled in the U.S. since a federal court judge suspended key parts of an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Jan. 27 that restricted travel from these seven nations.
