Voting and Demographics
The growth in the immigrant population has helped to strengthen and remake America over the last two decades. Today, as thousands of baby boomers retire each day, working-age immigrants are filling gaps in the labor market, paying billions of dollars in taxes that help our entitlement programs survive, and buying homes in communities that would otherwise be in decline. Millions of immigrants have also earned U.S. citizenship and the right to vote while millions more are estimated to be eligible to naturalize.
Report on New Americans in Columbus Highlights Economic Contributions of Immigrants
CONTACT Sarah Doolin, Partnership for a New American Economy, [email protected] The foreign-born in Columbus have more than $2 billion in spending power and have contributed over $258 million in state and local tax dollars Columbus, OH – New American Economy has developed a series… Read More
Latinos More Tuned In to 2016 Elections Than 2012 Race: New Poll
Latinos are paying closer attention to the 2016 election than they were to the 2012 race and they are linking candidates’ support for immigration reform to their economic opportunity, a Latino Decisions poll for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) finds. The poll of registered Latino voters released… Read More
Immigrants in Iowa, Host State of Tonight’s Democratic Debate
On Saturday night, the Democratic candidates will meet for the second primary debate (#DemDebate) in Des Moines, Iowa. Ahead of the debate, here are a few facts about Iowa’s immigrant population. Although Iowa’s foreign-born community is relatively small – representing just 4.5 percent of the state’s… Read More
The Changing Face of Television
This fall, actress Viola Davis made history by becoming the first black woman to win an Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress in Drama.” In her acceptance speech, she drew attention to the lack of opportunities for women of color in television and film — an accusation against Hollywood that has… Read More
Immigrants in Wisconsin, Site of Tonight’s GOP Debate
Tonight, the Republican candidates will face off for the fourth GOP presidential debate (#GOPDebate) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ahead of the debate, here are a few facts about Wisconsin’s immigrant population. While the state’s immigrant community is relatively small — just 4.6 percent of the state’s population is foreign-born… Read More
New Americans in Cincinnati
On October 28, 2015, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Jill Meyer held a press conference to acknowledge the economic and demographic contributions immigrants have made in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Drawing on data from a research report produced by New American Economy with the… Read More
Report on New Americans in Cincinnati Highlights Economic Contributions of Immigrants
CONTACT Sarah Doolin, New American Economy, [email protected] The foreign-born population in metro Cincinnati holds more than $1.5 billion in spending power and has contributed over $189 million in state and local tax dollars Cincinnati, OH — Today, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and Cincinnati USA… Read More
Report on New Americans in Denver Highlights Economic Contributions of Immigrants
CONTACT Sarah Doolin, New American Economy, [email protected] Adriana La Rotta, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, [email protected] Foreign-born households in Denver generate $6.9 billion in spending power, contribute more than $1 billion to Social Security and Medicare Denver, CO – This Wednesday, business, government, and community… Read More
New Americans in Denver
On October 26, 2015, business, government, and community leaders will gather for “Growth in the New West: Maximizing Immigrant Contributions to Denver’s Prosperity,” an event convened by Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) and New American Economy (NAE) in partnership with the Office of Mayor Michael B. Hancock and… Read More
Podcast:
Listen to NAE’s Director of Research, Angie Marek-Zeitlin, discuss our latest report, Life Support: The Shortage of Physicians in America’s Rural Counties and How Foreign-Born Doctors can Help. In this short interview, Marek-Zeitlin discusses the report’s main findings and why they matter for America’s future. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Angie-Podcast-FINAL.mp3 … Read More
Immigrant Population Growth
Both the number and the share of immigrants in America are increasing, with the U.S. Census Bureau projecting that between 2027 and 2038 international migration will be the primary driver of U.S. population growth for the first time in two centuries.1 The trend is already underway. Between 1990 and 2014, the number of immigrants living in America more than doubled. By 2014, more than one in eight Americans were foreign-born. Immigrants play a particularly important role in California, where they make up more than one out of every four residents.
Sources:
1 U.S. Census Bureau, “International Migration is Projected to Become Primary Driver of U.S. Population Growth for First Time in Nearly Two Centuries,” press release (2013), accessed July 30, 2014. Available online.
Share of Population, Foreign-Born
Mitigating Baby Boomer Retirement
The ratio of seniors to working-age adults in America has remained relatively constant since 1980, at about 240 seniors for every 1,000 workers. With the Baby Boomers’ retirement, however, the ratio is poised to jump a stunning 67 percent in the next two decades, to 411 seniors for every 1,000 workers.2 Already, less than half the U.S.-born population is working-age, or between the ages of 25 and 64. Meanwhile, almost three-quarters of the foreign-born population fall into that age bracket, allowing them to make important contributions to both the labor force and U.S. tax coffers.
Sources:
2 Dowell Myers, “Immigrants’ Contributions in an Aging America,” Community Banking, no. Sum (2008): 3–5.
Age Breakdown of Select Populations, 2014
States with the Largest Gap Between Share of Native-Born and Foreign-Born Populations that are Working-Aged, 2014
Housing and Entitlement Contributions
Because immigrants are far more likely to be working-age, they play an important role contributing to the entitlement programs that help seniors as they age. One NAE study found that between 1996 and 2011 immigrants contributed $182.4 billion more to Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund—the core trust fund in the program—than was expended on their care. Immigrants also have made up roughly one in seven homebuyers in recent years, often purchasing the homes of Baby Boomers as they retire.
Amount Immigrants Contributed to Entitlement Programs, 2014
States where Immigrants Made up the Largest Share of Homebuyers, 2010-2014
Fueling Growth in New Destination States
Before 1990, nearly three-quarters of immigrants lived in one of six gateway states: California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.3 By 2010, those states’ share had started to drop significantly, to 65 percent, as immigrants increasingly began settling in new-destination states, such as Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, and Washington. As immigrants move into new states, they help offset brain drain and population decline, often filling positions that would have remained vacant otherwise. The more than 10,000 immigrants that moved to North Dakota between 2010 and 2014, for instance, helped fill labor gaps created when locals took well-paid jobs during the shale oil boom.4
Sources:
3 The Pew Charitable Trusts, “U.S. Immigration: National and State Trends and Actions” (November 2013). Available online.
4 Jack Nicas, “North Dakota City Draws Foreign Workers,” Wall Street Journal, 2012, sec. Business. Available online.
States with Largest Percent Increase in Number of Immigrants, 2010-2014
Voting Power and Citizenship
As more immigrants naturalize and become eligible to vote, they will continue to gain power at the voting booth. Nationally, almost 20 million foreign-born citizens were eligible to vote in the 2016 election. By 2020, that figure is projected to rise to 21.2 million. In some states, foreign-born voters are already capable of deciding elections. In Nevada, for instance, almost 256,000 immigrants were eligible to vote in 2016, a number more than nine times higher than Hillary Clinton’s margin of victory in the state that year.
Eligible Immigrant Voters Versus Number of Votes that Decided Presidential Result in Key States, 2016
Immigrants Eligible to Naturalize in Selected States and the United States, 2017
Diversifying the Electorate
Although the white working class played a significant role in the 2016 election, demographic trends mean they will see their influence decline in future electoral contests. While only 11.2 percent of the current U.S. senior population identifies as Hispanic or Asian-American, 27.8 percent of those graduating from high school in the next decade do.5 This means that between 2015 and 2024, the share of the electorate that is white is projected to decline by 4.4 percent. The share that will be both white and working class will see even steeper declines, falling by 5.5 percent. Given this reality, politicians hoping to remain competitive in key states in the future will need to ensure that they do not ignore the needs of Hispanic and Asian voters, many of whom are immigrants.
Sources:
5 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.
Projected Decline in the Share of Electorate that is White Working Class in Key States, 2015-2024
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