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In March 2024 the foreign-born population reached 51.6 million, 5.1 million more than in March 2022 — the largest two-year increase ever recorded in American History.
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The 51.6 million foreign-born residents in March of this year were 15.6 percent of the total U.S. population, also record highs in American history.
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Since President Biden took office in January 2021 the foreign-born population has increased by 6.6 million in just 39 months.
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We have previously estimated that nearly 58 percent of the increase under President Biden is due to illegal immigration.
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If present trends continue, the foreign-born population will reach 62.5 million in 2030 and 82.2 million by 2040 — larger than the current combined populations of 30 states plus the District of Columbia.
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Many observers think of immigrants solely as workers, but only 46 percent of the foreign-born who arrived in 2022 or later were employed in the first part of 2024 — similar to the share of new arrivals employed during previous economic expansions.
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As in any human population, many newly arrived immigrants are children, elderly, disabled, caregivers, or others with no ability to work or interest in doing so.
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Only about 8 percent of the 2.5 million new arrivals who are not working say they are actively looking for work.
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The dramatic recent increases in the size of the foreign-born population represent net growth. The number of new arrivals was much higher but was offset by outmigration and natural mortality among the foreign-born already here.
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There also is some undercount in this data, so the actual number of foreign residents in the United States is larger.---