Immigrant population of the US reaches highest point in 93 years with 41 million having been born abroad

  • Foreign-born residents now make up 13 per cent of the population 
  • It is an increase of 1.4 million since 2010 and 10.2 million since 2000
  • The total has doubled since 1990 and tripled since 1980  

By Wills Robinson for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Statistics released by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that foreign-born residents make up 13 per cent of the population (file picture)

Statistics released by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that foreign-born residents make up 13 per cent of the population (file picture)

The number of immigrants in the United States has risen to its highest point in 93 years with 41 million having been born abroad, census data has revealed.

Statistics released by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that foreign-born residents make up 13 per cent of the population with one in six adults arriving and settling from abroad.

It is an increase of 1.4 million since July 2010 and 10.2 million since 2000. The figure is double the number in 1990 and triple that in 1980.

The rise comes during as the total population is only growing 0.71 per cent a year - the slowest rate since the Great Depression

The biggest influx came from South Asia, where 373,000 people arrived between 2010 and 2013 - a 16 per cent increase on previous records.

More than 250,000 came from India, 217,000 from China and 112,000 from the Dominican Republic. 

The number of Mexicans in the country declined by one per cent in that time frame. 

However they still account for the largest immigrant population in the United States by far, with 11.6 million legal and illegal in 2013.

Across the states, the highest number arrived in Texas (227,240) followed by California (160,771), Florida (140,019) and New York (85,699).

The proportion of immigrants as part of the population grew by 27 per cent in North Dakota and  17 per cent in West Virginia.  

The report's authors Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler wrote: 'The data also imply that 3.3 million new immigrants settled in the country in that same period. 

'These new arrivals were offset by return migration and deaths among the existing population.

'The immigrant population, referred to as the foreign-born by the Census Bureau, includes all those who were not US citizens at birth, including illegal immigrants.'

The release follows an announcement from the Department of Defense that they will allow undocumented immigrants to enter the US military. 

The new rule applies only to those who qualify for the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, which gives immigrants who came to the country with their parents a path to citizenship by the time they are 16. 

The table put together by the research center shows where the incoming immigrants have travelled from and in what numbers 

The table put together by the research center shows where the incoming immigrants have travelled from and in what numbers 

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