A Description of the Immigrant Population
Abstract
The number of foreign-born people in the United States now constitutes 12 percent of the population -- the highest share since about 1930. The rise in the number of recently arrived residents -- nearly half of the immigrants in the United States have arrived since 1990 -- has raised broad questions about the potential effects of immigration on labor markets and economic performance in general. Immigration increases the pressures for federal, state, and local government spending. Immigrants also contribute to the economy and pay taxes. A major question is whether immigration has the potential to lessen the strain on the federal budget as the baby-boom generation retires. This paper is the first of several reports by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) intended to present the facts and research on immigration to help inform the agency's projections of the federal budget and the economy. The paper focuses on the characteristics of immigrants, including where they come from, where they reside, and how those patterns have changed over time, as well as immigrants' level of education, the industries and occupations in which they work, and their earnings. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective, nonpartisan analysis, this paper makes no recommendations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA429507
Entities
People
- David Brauer
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office