New Americans: where do immigrants come from in the USA and in which states do they have the most

The number of migrants granted legal status in the US dropped sharply in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which not only prevented many from coming to the country, but also slowed down the processing of applications already submitted. Where do immigrants come from and to which states do they go? The Hill.

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Just over 700 new people became legal residents in the U.S. in the last fiscal year, compared to more than a million people who became legal residents in each of the previous six years, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) annual report.

The DHS report says that about one in seven of those who received permanent legal residence, and that's 100 people, came from Mexico, which is more than from any other country.

About 46 people have moved from India and another 000 from China, according to DHS. The data show that more people have moved from Asia, at 41, than from North America (000).

Along with Mexico, North American countries such as the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Cuba, and Jamaica are some of the largest donors of new American residents.

The number of immigrants from Asian countries is also growing: Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, Afghanistan and Pakistan - all of which brought tens of thousands of new Americans last year. This is part of a long-term trend that began more than half a century ago when the United States revised its immigration policy to end the racist exclusion of people from these countries from the US.

“Since 1965, when the US revised its immigration laws, that was the start of a lot of immigration from Asia,” said Julia Gelatt, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. “In recent years, Asia has made a huge contribution to the number of new green card holders.”

On the subject: The opinion of a Russian-speaking immigrant: 7 reasons to move to the USA

South American countries accounted for about 62 new Americans, primarily from Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. About 000 people from African countries, led by 76 Nigerians and 000 people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as thousands of Ethiopians, Egyptians and Ghanaians, have been granted residence in the United States.

Philip Connor, senior demographer for immigration group FWD.us, said the number of migrants from African countries has been on the rise in recent years.

“The proportion of immigrants from Africa has also increased over time,” Connor noted.

Many of these new residents come for a variety of reasons: Congolese have taken advantage of refugee resettlement programs, while Nigerians have immigrated in search of skills-based work.

The total number of people who have obtained legal permanent residence has dropped significantly in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moves by the Trump administration to add new barriers to immigrants have played a part in the long-term slowdown, Gelatt said.

“Under the Trump administration, there were more background checks, more interviews, higher rejection rates for all kinds of applications,” Gelatt said. Even after opening, they were slower than before, which led to a sharp decrease in the number of people receiving green cards.

In 2016, more than 1,18 million people gained the right to live in the United States. That number has been decreasing with every year of the Trump administration. The 707 people who received green cards in 000 were the lowest number since 2021, although it was still higher than the number of new residents in the late 2003s and most of the 1990s.

In recent years, migration from almost all countries has slowed down. The number of new residents from Mexico has declined from a peak of 174 in 000; the number of new residents from China has more than halved since the beginning of the last decade, and the number of legal migrants from India has fallen by a third.

Some countries send only a small number of people to the United States each year. DHS registered only three new residents from the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu and four each from the Maldives, New Caledonia, the Seychelles and Sao Tome and Principe. Eight people moved from Monaco, five from Gibraltar.

The lower migration rate has contributed to slower population growth throughout the country. According to the census, the US population has grown by 7,4% over the past decade, a slower growth rate than in any other decade since the 1930s.

Slowing population growth, due in part to lower levels of migration, has an economic cost, Connor said.

“We as a country will need a million new residents every year to sustain economic growth,” he said. “Instead, we have almost a 50 percent cut, which is going to be a problem.”

Still, according to Gelatt, more people are coming to the United States than they are leaving.

“In general, the number of people moving to the US is greater than those moving from the United States abroad,” Gelatt said. “We have positive migration.”

Where are the immigrants going?

Slightly more than 2000 U.S. counties received more immigrants from other countries than those who left the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that about 71%, or 2, of the 218 counties have positive migration. Business Insider.

Most counties had positive net international migration, but there were also places with negative values.

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Negative immigration counties (more people leaving the country than entering it) are most common in California (41,4%), Oregon (27,8%), and Mississippi (23,2%).

In hundreds of counties, international migration was virtually unchanged from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, or was zero during this part of the pandemic. This includes Cook County (Georgia) and Henderson County (Texas).

The following table shows the counties with the highest positive net international migration among places with a population of at least 10 as of July 000, 1:

• Miami-Dade County (Florida) - there are 2 immigrants per 692 population - 459 per 14 thousand;
• Suffolk County (Massachusetts) - 795 - 431 - 2;
• Alexandria City (VA) - 159 - 097 - 608;
• Harrisonburg City (VA) - 51 - 675 - 192;
• Beadle County (South Dakota) - 19 - 146 - 133;
• Frio County (Texas) - 18 - 366 - 124;
• Fairfax (Virginia) - 24 - 129 - 100;
• Karnes County (TX) - 14 - 721 - 64;
• Jefferson County (Iowa) - 15 - 659 - 58;
• Colfax County (Nebraska) - 10 - 546 - 55.

David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, recently said that accelerating immigration, especially based on skills and demand, could help address the historic labor shortage the country has been facing.

“We need more workers,” said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce. “We should welcome people who want to come here, go to school, stay and work.”

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