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BIRTHS TO
IMMIGRANTS AT ALL-TIME HIGH
Nearly 1/4 of New Mothers Are Foreign-Born, 1 in 10 an Illegal Alien
By Steven Camarota, The Center for
Immigration Studies
WASHINGTON (July 7, 2005) -- A new
analysis of birth records by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that in
2002 almost one in four births in the United States was to an immigrant mother
(legal or illegal), the highest level in American history. In addition, nearly
ten percent of all births in the country were to illegal-alien mothers. This is
important for at least two reasons: first, it is currently U.S. government
policy to award American citizenship to all persons born on U.S. soil, even the
children of tourists and illegal aliens. In addition, the number and share of
children born to immigrants is now so large that it may overwhelm the
assimilation process.
The new report, “Births to Immigrants in America, 1970-2002,” by the Center’s
Director of Research, Steven A. Camarota, is on line at
http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/back805.html.
Among the findings:
* In 2002, 23 percent of all births in the United States were to immigrant
mothers (legal or illegal), compared to 15 percent in 1990, 9 percent in 1980
and 6 percent in 1970.
* Even at the peak of the last great wave of immigration in 1910, the share of
births to immigrant mothers did not reach the level of today. And after 1910
immigration was reduced, whereas current immigration continues at record levels,
thus births to immigrants will continue to increase.
* Our best estimate is that 383,000, or 42 percent, of births to immigrants are
to illegal alien mothers. Thus births to illegals now account for nearly 1 out
of every 10 births in the United States.
* The large number of births to illegals shows that the longer illegal
immigration is allowed to persist the harder it is to solve, because these U.S.
citizen children can stay permanently, their citizenship can prevent a parent’s
deportation, and once adults, they can sponsor their parents for permanent
residence.
* The issue of births to illegals also shows that a “temporary” worker program
would inevitably result in the permanent addition of hundreds of thousands of
people to the U.S. population each year, exactly what such a program is supposed
to avoid.
* The dramatic growth in births to immigrants has been accompanied by a
significant decline in diversity. The top country for immigrant births C Mexico
C increased from 24 percent of births to immigrants in 1970 to 45 percent in
2002.
“Research shows that one of the biggest challenges immigrant-receiving countries
face is the assimilation of the children of immigrants, who will have much
higher expectations than their parents,” said Camarota. “With immigrants
accounting for such a large, and growing, share of births, America is headed
into uncharted territory. We simply don’t know how these children will
assimilate -- but it is clear that the stakes for America are enormous.”
Among the new report’s other findings:
* In 2002, births to Hispanic immigrants accounted for 59 percent of all births
to immigrant mothers. No single cultural/linguistic group has ever accounted for
such a large share of births to immigrants.
* Immigrant mothers are much less educated than native mothers. In 2002, 39
percent lacked a high school degree, compared to 17 percent of native-born
mothers. And immigrants now account for 41 percent of all births to mothers
without a high school degree.
* The states with the most dramatic increase in births to immigrants in the last
decade are Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Nebraska, Arkansas, Arizona,
Tennessee, Minnesota, Colorado, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland.
* Immigrants account for such a large percentage of births because they have
somewhat higher fertility and are more likely to be in their reproductive years
than natives. Nevertheless, the differences with natives are not large enough to
significantly affect the nation’s overall age structure.
* Immigrants who have arrived over the past two decades, plus all of their
U.S.-born children, have only reduced the average age in the United States from
37 to 36 years.
* Looking at the working-age (15 to 64) share of the population also shows
little effect from immigration. With or without post-1980 immigrants and all
their U.S.-born children, 66 percent of the population is of working age.
* While immigration has little effect on the nation’s age structure, each year
new immigration (legal and illegal), plus births to immigrants, adds at some 2.4
million people to America’s population, making for a much larger population and
a more densely settled country.
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