A GUIDE FOR NEW IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA

The Immigrant Magazine's Demographics

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The Immigrant Magazine Incorporated is a multi-media corporation that specializes in the development and distribution of media that focuses on the United States’ growing and ever-changing ethnic population. The organization aspires to become the voice of the American immigrant by providing this audience with publications that will enhance their experience in America and forums to address their unique concerns and interests.

Through The Immigrant, the company will create an Internet vehicle that will connect immigrants of all works of life from all parts of the nation hence fostering greater awareness and appreciation of the nation’s ethnic diversity by focusing on stories and articles that will help them fulfill their ambitions.

Foreign Born Population In U.S.A

Census statistics shows immigrants or foreign-born population of the US to constitute 9.5 percent of the total population in 2000. 70 percent of this population is over the age of 18 and educated from home country.

The statistics show Hispanics, Europeans and Asians however as the majority foreign –born with Hispanics as the fastest growing immigrant group at 35.3 million a total of 13 percent of total US population. In 2003 they are now at 38.5 million now representing 13.4percent of US population.
Percentage of Population By Ethnicity

  • Hispanic: 44.560%
  • White: 31.090%
  • Asian: 11.81%
  • African American: 9.470%
  • Native American: 0.270%
  • Pacific Islander: 0.240%
  • Other/Multicultural: 2.550%

* Research and data taken from the 2000 United States Census.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS

While most Americans view the United States as a white European nation as a result of continuous European migration since the 17th century, we now understand European immigration was only one stage of immigration into this country. From the 1820s through the 1920s, most immigrants to the Unite States came from Europe. By 1965, less than half of the immigrants came from Europe; by the 1990s, it was less than 10%.

During periods when European immigration dominated, sources of immigrants varied. In the first two-thirds of the 19th Century, most immigrants came from Ireland, Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Holland. In 1907 at the peak of immigration into this country 81% immigrants came from Italy, Russian, Austria-Hungary, Greece, Rumania and Turkey. From the 1820s to World War II, Germany provided 16% of all new immigrants, Italy 12, Austria-Hungary 12%, Great Britain 11%, Russia 10%, and Scandinavia 5%.

A variety of conditions influenced the stream of migrants. Poor harvests and famine sent millions of Swedes, Irish and Germans to the U.S in the 1830’s and after. In the 1840’s, political upheaval caused more Germans to leave their country to come to the U.S. Ethnic and religious minorities including Jews from Eastern Europe, Poles and Germans from Russia, Macedonians from the Balkans, Czechs and Bohemians from Austria-Hungary found freedom in the United States.

ASIAN IMMIGRANTS

Asians represent the second largest foreign-born group of new immigrants in the United States. 25% of all immigrants who entered the United States in 2000 came from Asia. They also constitute a very young population with 29% being under 18 years of age. Their numbers are expected to grow steadily and it is believed that by 2007 about 15 million Americans will be of Asian descent.

Asians include individuals with a wide variety of national ancestries, languages and diverse. They are as follows:

  1. Chinese-22%
  2. Asian Indian- 15%
  3. Korean- 10%
  4. Japanese- 10%
  5. Filipino- 20%
  6. Vietnamese- 10%
  7. Cambodian- 2%
  8. Pakistani- 2%

Over half (51%) of the Asian population lives in three states California (4.2 million), New York (1.2 million) and Hawaii (0.7 million. 96% of the Asian population lives in metropolitan areas, and New York has the highest concentration followed by Los Angles, San Jose and San Francisco.

U. S. Cities with the Largest Asian Population – 2000

City Population of Asians % of total city Population
New York, NY 872,777 10.9
Los Angeles 407,444 11.0
San Jose 275,571 28.8
San Francisco 253,477 32.6  
Honolulu 251,686  55.9

HISPANIC IMMIGRANTS

In 2000, 39.1% of the Hispanic population in the U.S was foreign born. Of this group 43% entered the U.S in the 1990s while another 29.7% came in the 1980’s and the remainder (27.3%) entered before 1980. More than 60% Hispanics are citizens and they represent a high consumption population. The median for Hispanics in the US is 25.9.

In 2000, 32.8 million Hispanics resided in the United States. As a group Hispanics are divided into subgroups depending where they originate. They are as follows:

  • Mexicans- 7.3%
  • Puerto Ricans- 1.2%
  • Cubans- 0.4%
  • Others- 3.6%

Among the Hispanic population, 66.1% are of Mexican origin, 14.5 % are Central and South American, 9.0% are Puerto Rican, 4.0% are Cuban, and the remaining 6.4 are of other Hispanic Origins.

Latinos of Mexican origin were more likely to live in the West (56.8%) and South (32.6 %), Puerto Ricans were most likely to live in the Northeast (63.9 %) and Cubans are highly concentrated in the South (80.1%). In the other hand Central and South Americans are spread almost evenly in the 3 of 4 regions: Northeast (32.3%); South (34.6%); West (28.2%).

 In 2000, 35.7% percent of all Hispanics were 18 years or younger compared with 23.5% of non-Hispanic Whites. A small percentage of Latinos were age 65 and older (5.3%) compared with non-Hispanic Whites (14%).

Among Hispanics, the Mexican origin population has the highest proportion of people less than age 18 (38.4%) and Cuban origin population have the lowest proportion (19.2%). The proportion of elderly people (65 and older) ranges from approximately 4.5% for Mexicans, Central and South Americans to 21% for Cubans. At the present time, the states with the greatest concentration of Hispanics are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and New Mexico.

AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS

Between 1970 and 2000 the share of black immigrants among the nation's black population grew from 1.3 percent to 7.8 percent. Two-thirds of all African immigrants currently in the United States arrived after 1980.

According to studies African-born residents in the United States are highly educated and have among the highest per-capita incomes of any immigrant group. However, they do not arrive in large numbers and only account for between 5 percent and 6 percent of legal immigrants since 1997, according to federal numbers. In 1996 The Economist reported that three quarters of African immigrants have some college experience and that one in four has an advanced degree.

The severe economic difficulties, increased poverty, and the political instability that has plagued some African countries have resulted in an increase of migration of Africans Europe and the United States. The increase of African immigrants to the United States in the last two decades has been phenomenal.  According to figures from the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), the number of African immigrants to the United States more than quadrupled in the last two decades from 109,733 between 1961 and 1980 to 531,832 between 1981 and 2000.Unlike their counterparts in the 1960s and 70s who were anxious to return home after acquiring an American education in order to contribute in the task of nation building, most recent immigrants are more interested in establishing permanent residency in the United States.

Most of these immigrants continue to be attracted to major cities like New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles, but can also be found in increasing numbers in small and mid-sized cities in Ohio, Nebraska, Iowa, and Maine.