While the iconic image of America as a nation of immigrants is woven into our history, today's landscape is defined by staggering numbers: with a record 46.1 million foreign-born residents now calling the U.S. home, representing nearly 14% of the total population, the story of modern America is fundamentally a story of migration, transformation, and complex policy challenges.
Key Takeaways
- In fiscal year 2022, the U.S. foreign-born population reached 46.1 million, representing 13.9% of the total U.S. population, up from 31.1 million (10.1%) in 2000
- As of 2023, Mexican immigrants accounted for 23% of the U.S. foreign-born population, totaling about 10.7 million individuals, followed by Indians at 7% (3.2 million)
- The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. was estimated at 11 million in 2022, stable from 10.5 million in 2021 but down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007
- In FY 2023, USCIS approved 1,085,000 applications for lawful permanent residence (green cards)
- Family-sponsored green cards totaled 454,000 in FY 2023, representing 42% of all LPR approvals, including 68,000 immediate relatives of U.S. citizens
- Employment-based green cards reached 127,000 in FY 2023, with 40% going to spouses and children of principal beneficiaries
- In FY 2023, CBP encountered 2.48 million migrants at the southwest land border, a record high
- Of 2.48 million southwest border encounters in FY 2023, 68% were single adults, 22% family units, 10% unaccompanied children
- Gotaways (evaded detection) estimated at 670,000 nationwide in FY 2023, with 84% at southwest border
- ICE arrested 170,590 individuals in FY 2023, highest since 2019, with 75% having criminal convictions or charges
- ICE removals totaled 142,580 in FY 2023, of which 59% were interior removals
- Title 42 expulsions at southwest border: 1.02 million in FY 2023 before policy ended May 2023
- Immigrants paid $525.7 billion in taxes in 2022, including $34.6 billion in federal taxes from unauthorized immigrants
- Foreign-born workers filled 18.6% of U.S. jobs in 2023, with 36% in healthcare occupations and 29% in construction
- Immigrant-headed households used 14% fewer welfare benefits per capita than native-headed in 2022
The U.S. foreign-born population grew significantly to 46.1 million in 2022.
Economic and Social Impacts
- Immigrants paid $525.7 billion in taxes in 2022, including $34.6 billion in federal taxes from unauthorized immigrants
- Foreign-born workers filled 18.6% of U.S. jobs in 2023, with 36% in healthcare occupations and 29% in construction
- Immigrant-headed households used 14% fewer welfare benefits per capita than native-headed in 2022
- Immigrants started 45% of Fortune 500 companies in 2023, generating $8 trillion in revenue
- Unauthorized immigrants contributed $96.7 billion to state/local taxes in 2022, with California ($8.5B) leading
- 25% of U.S. physicians are foreign-born as of 2023, and 28% of nurses
- Immigrant entrepreneurs created 8 million jobs in 2022, representing 25% of new business owners
- Remittances sent by immigrants from U.S.: $79 billion to Mexico alone in 2023, total global $857 billion
- Foreign-born poverty rate: 17.5% in 2022 vs. 11.5% for natives, but child poverty lower at 15.3% vs. 13.8%
- Immigrants boosted U.S. GDP by $2 trillion annually as of 2022 estimates
- In 2022, 44% of immigrants lived in poverty or near-poverty (below 150% FPL), vs. 33% natives
- H-1B visa holders earned median $120,000 in 2023, 20% above native STEM workers
- Refugee households had 31% welfare usage rate in 2022 vs. 28% natives
- Immigrants accounted for 28% of U.S. patents in 2022
- Foreign-born labor force participation rate: 65.4% in 2023 vs. 61.3% natives
- Foreign-born unemployment: 3.5% 2023 vs. 3.6% natives
- Immigrants comprise 50% of Uber drivers, 40% DoorDash in 2023
- Fiscal cost of unauthorized immigration: $150.7 billion net 2023
- 80% of recent STEM PhDs foreign-born 2023
- Immigrant households median income: $81,000 2022 vs. $77,000 natives
- TPS holders: 1.2 million eligible, 700,000 granted 2023
Economic and Social Impacts Interpretation
Despite being regularly scapegoated, immigrants are not just filling our jobs—they are disproportionately filling critical ones, founding our most successful companies, paying staggering sums in taxes (even without papers), and generally propping up the economy, all while often navigating a system stacked against their prosperity.
Enforcement and Removals
- ICE arrested 170,590 individuals in FY 2023, highest since 2019, with 75% having criminal convictions or charges
- ICE removals totaled 142,580 in FY 2023, of which 59% were interior removals
- Title 42 expulsions at southwest border: 1.02 million in FY 2023 before policy ended May 2023
- ICE detained average of 36,000 individuals daily in FY 2023, with 88% noncitizens having criminal histories
- Deportations to Mexico: 314,000 in FY 2023, highest since FY 2010
- Criminal alien arrests by ICE: 73,822 in FY 2023, including 1,713 gang members and 231 terrorists/terror watchlist
- CBP Office of Field Operations inadmissible encounters: 610,000 nationwide in FY 2023
- Expedited removals: 144,000 in FY 2023, primarily at southwest border
- ICE Alternatives to Detention enrolled 198,000 in FY 2023, with 82% compliance rate
- Total DHS removals and returns: 1.42 million in FY 2023
- Fugitive operations arrests: 32,000 in FY 2023 by ICE HSI
- Southwest border repatriations: 740,000 voluntary returns in FY 2023
- ICE deported 142,000 to 192 countries in FY 2023, led by Mexico (69,000), Guatemala (26,000), Honduras (17,000)
- Criminal convictions among ICE arrests: 397,000 prior convictions for 170,590 arrests in FY 2023
- FY 2023 ICE ERO removals: 142,580, 67% criminals
- Title 8 expulsions post-Title 42: 700,000 FY2023 after May
- ICE arrests: 170,590 FY2023, 75% criminal/noncitizen threat
- Detainer compliance: 96% of 1.1 million jail notifications FY2023
- FY2023 removals interior: 83,000, border: 59,000
- Narcotics seizures by CBP: 27,000 lbs fentanyl FY2023
- Human smuggling arrests: 4,500 FY2023 by CBP
- Visa overstays: 666,000 estimated FY2022, 42% of unauthorized additions
- Reinstatement of removal orders: 60,000 FY2023
Enforcement and Removals Interpretation
ICE had a busy year, and while its agents were undoubtedly buried in paperwork, they focused heavily on tracking down and removing those who posed the greatest threat, proving that even a mountain of statistics can have a sharp edge.
Legal Immigration
- In FY 2023, USCIS approved 1,085,000 applications for lawful permanent residence (green cards)
- Family-sponsored green cards totaled 454,000 in FY 2023, representing 42% of all LPR approvals, including 68,000 immediate relatives of U.S. citizens
- Employment-based green cards reached 127,000 in FY 2023, with 40% going to spouses and children of principal beneficiaries
- Diversity Visa Program issued 54,850 visas in FY 2023, selected from 22 million applicants worldwide
- Refugees admitted to the U.S. numbered 60,000 in FY 2023, primarily from Democratic Republic of Congo (17,000), Syria (11,500), and Afghanistan (7,200)
- Asylees granted affirmative asylum totaled 54,350 in FY 2023, with defensive grants adding 35,720
- H-1B visas approved for initial employment: 393,000 in FY 2023, mostly for computer-related occupations (72%)
- Student visas (F, M, J) issued: 434,000 in FY 2023, with India (269,000) and China (134,000) as top countries
- Naturalizations reached 878,500 in FY 2023, highest since 2008, with top countries Mexico (130,000), India (59,000), Philippines (42,000)
- Adjustment of status approvals: 835,000 in FY 2023, 77% of total LPRs, vs. 248,000 new arrivals abroad
- EB-5 investor visas approved: 11,000 in FY 2023, requiring minimum $800,000 investment creating 10 jobs
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries: 900,000 active designations in FY 2023 from 17 countries
- H-2A temporary agricultural worker visas: 250,000 approved in FY 2023, up 10% from prior year
- Parole grants for humanitarian reasons: 526,000 in FY 2023 under programs like Uniting for Ukraine (144,000)
- In FY 2023, immediate relative green cards: 386,000, spouses 259,000, parents 67,000, children 60,000
- Family preference green cards: 68,000 in FY 2023, backlog over 4 million
- EB-1 visas (extraordinary ability): 41,000 in FY 2023
- EB-2 (advanced degrees): 45,000 principal approvals FY 2023
- FY 2023 refugee ceiling: 125,000, admissions 60,014
- Asylum grants total: 90,070 in FY 2023 (affirmative + defensive)
- H-2B temporary non-ag visas: 130,000 approved FY 2023
- L-1 intracompany transferees: 85,000 approvals FY 2023
- FY 2023 naturalization: 878,500, 55% female, median age 40
- CHNV parole program: 532,000 arrivals by Oct 2024 under Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela
Legal Immigration Interpretation
While family ties still anchor America's immigration system, the story of FY 2023 reveals a nation simultaneously upholding tradition, competing fiercely for global talent, and responding—however imperfectly—to a world in humanitarian crisis.
Population and Demographics
- In fiscal year 2022, the U.S. foreign-born population reached 46.1 million, representing 13.9% of the total U.S. population, up from 31.1 million (10.1%) in 2000
- As of 2023, Mexican immigrants accounted for 23% of the U.S. foreign-born population, totaling about 10.7 million individuals, followed by Indians at 7% (3.2 million)
- The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. was estimated at 11 million in 2022, stable from 10.5 million in 2021 but down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007
- In 2023, 45% of U.S. immigrants were naturalized citizens, 28% were lawful permanent residents, 23% were unauthorized, and 4% held temporary visas
- Asian immigrants made up 30% of the U.S. foreign-born population in 2022, surpassing Hispanics at 27%, a shift from 1990 when Hispanics were 63%
- Children with at least one immigrant parent comprised 25% of U.S. children under 18 in 2022, totaling 18.9 million
- The median age of U.S. immigrants in 2023 was 47 years, compared to 37 for U.S.-born individuals, with 16% of immigrants aged 65 or older
- In 2022, 18.8 million immigrants lived in just three states: California (10.4 million), Texas (5.1 million), and Florida (2.8 million)
- Women accounted for 51% of the U.S. immigrant population in 2023, slightly higher than the 50% among U.S.-born
- Refugees and asylees made up 7% of the foreign-born population in 2022, totaling about 3.2 million
- English proficiency among immigrants aged 5+ was 54% in 2022, with 24% speaking only English and 30% speaking English very well
- In 2023, 44% of immigrants had arrived before 2000, 28% between 2000-2009, and 28% since 2010
- The foreign-born share of the U.S. labor force was 18.1% in 2023, up from 16.7% in 2019
- Top 10 metro areas housed 39% of immigrants in 2022, led by New York (5 million), Los Angeles (3.5 million), and Miami (1.3 million)
- 79% of immigrants aged 25+ had a high school diploma or more in 2023, compared to 94% of U.S.-born, but 35% had a bachelor's degree or higher vs. 40% U.S.-born
- In FY 2022, total foreign-born population was 46.1 million, 13.9% of U.S. total
- 27% of foreign-born were from Latin America (excluding Mexico), 6 million in 2023
- Limited English proficiency among immigrants: 46% in 2022, down from 52% in 2010
- 5.4 million U.S.-born children lived with at least one unauthorized parent in 2022
Population and Demographics Interpretation
While the U.S. remains a nation of immigrants with an increasingly diverse and deeply integrated foreign-born population—now nearly 14% of us, more educated and spread across generations than stereotypes suggest—it also grapples with the enduring reality of a large undocumented community, the complex lives of their American-born children, and a significant English-language hurdle that reminds us integration is always a work in progress.
Unauthorized Immigration
- In FY 2023, CBP encountered 2.48 million migrants at the southwest land border, a record high
- Of 2.48 million southwest border encounters in FY 2023, 68% were single adults, 22% family units, 10% unaccompanied children
- Gotaways (evaded detection) estimated at 670,000 nationwide in FY 2023, with 84% at southwest border
- Top nationalities for southwest encounters FY 2023: Mexico (710,000), Guatemala (410,000), Honduras (310,000), Venezuela (245,000)
- Repeat encounters accounted for 27% of total southwest border encounters in FY 2023, up from 15% pre-pandemic
- Unauthorized immigrant population grew by 500,000 from 2021 to 2022 to 11 million, with 4 million from Central America excluding Mexico
- 62% of unauthorized immigrants have lived in U.S. 10+ years as of 2022, median residence 15 years
- Unauthorized immigrants comprised 4.8% of U.S. workforce in 2022, concentrated in construction (12%) and agriculture (14%)
- DACA recipients: 535,000 active as of 2023, with 78% employed, median age 22
- Apprehensions between ports of entry at southwest border: 1.78 million in FY 2023
- In FY 2023, 2.5 million migrants were released into U.S. with Notice to Appear (NTA) or parole pending immigration proceedings
- Venezuelans encountered rose from 51,000 in FY 2022 to 245,000 in FY 2023, a 380% increase
- As of 2022, 3.8 million unauthorized immigrants from Central America (excluding Mexico), up 1 million since 2017
- 47% of unauthorized immigrants are homeowners as of 2022, with median household income $54,000
- FY 2023 CBP One app encounters led to 780,000 processed
- Unaccompanied minors encountered: 152,000 at southwest border FY 2023
- Family unit encounters: 545,000 FY 2023 southwest border
- Northern border encounters: 190,000 FY 2023, up 460% from FY 2022
- Estimated unauthorized population growth: 2.6 million 2021-2023
- 37% of unauthorized have U.S. citizen children under 18, 2022
- FY 2023 gotaways: 1.1 million including probables, DHS estimate
- Colombians encountered: 105,000 FY 2023, up from 11,000 FY 2022
- Ecuadorians: 91,000 encounters FY 2023 vs. 4,000 prior year
Unauthorized Immigration Interpretation
The portrait that emerges from these numbers is not of a fleeting crisis but of a vast, enduring, and deeply human reality: a surging tide of individuals, families, and repeat crossers—primarily from our own hemisphere—who are not just arriving but embedding themselves into the fabric of American communities and the economy, all while a strained system tries to process, count, and release more people than ever before.
Sources & References
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- Reference 3USCISuscis.govVisit source
- Reference 4DHSdhs.govVisit source
- Reference 5WRAPSNETwrapsnet.orgVisit source
- Reference 6TRAVELtravel.state.govVisit source
- Reference 7CBPcbp.govVisit source
- Reference 8HOMELANDhomeland.house.govVisit source
- Reference 9CMSNYcmsny.orgVisit source
- Reference 10FAIRUSfairus.orgVisit source
- Reference 11ICEice.govVisit source
- Reference 12ITEPitep.orgVisit source
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- Reference 14CIScis.orgVisit source
- Reference 15NEWAMERICANECONOMYnewamericaneconomy.orgVisit source
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- Reference 19CENSUScensus.govVisit source
- Reference 20JECjec.senate.govVisit source