According to a new analysis of Census Bureau data compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies, immigration has been the leading factor in U.S. population growth in recent years due to astronomically high levels of illegal immigration and a slight decline in native birthrates.
Steven Camarota, the Center for Immigration Studies’ director of research, explained:
Legal and illegal immigration have added roughly 15 million people to the U.S. population in the last decade. This clearly has important implications for issues Americans care about, like the environment and congestion. The key question for policymakers and the public is whether this should be allowed to continue at this pace.
The study's main conclusion states that over the past two decades, immigration has represented a dramatically increased share of U.S. population growth.
“The net migration of immigrants (legal and illegal) plus births to immigrants once in the United States added 6.7 million to the U.S. population between 2016 and 2021,” the conclusions read.
While 6.7 million may seem insignificant, it must be considered that it represents approximately three-fourths of the total increase in the U.S. population during that period.
For context, as a result of the historic Biden Border Crisis, between 2021 and 2022, international migration alone accounted for 80% of U.S. population growth, according to Census Bureau estimates.
This stark rise in immigration’s share in population growth is not only the result of more immigration but also a decline in “natural increase,” or births minus deaths of U.S. residents.
While this decline has been noted for decades, recent increases in “deaths of despair” (suicide and overdose), rising obesity, population aging, and Covid-19 have exacerbated its impact.
Births rose slightly again in 2022 as the pandemic came to a close and are expected to grow in 2023. Still, it is doubtful that natural increases will reach the numerical levels of immigration seen under Biden’s disastrous first two years.
The CIS analysis concludes:
Despite the expected upturn in natural increase, immigration will continue to drive U.S. population in the future absent a change in policy.
For the full story, please visit the Center for Immigration Studies' webpage.
