9.2 An Overview of Immigration and Citizenship
LO 9.2: Describe how immigration, citizenship, and belonging are connected.
An immigrant is an individual who leaves their home country and moves to another country. Figure 9.3 illustrates the size of the immigrant population in the United States over time. The share of the U.S. population that was immigrants was highest in 1890 at 14.8%. Today, the share is similar (13.9%) of people in the United States are immigrants (U.S. Census Bureau, v2024).
Figure 9.3
The Percentage of the U.S. Population that is Foreign-Born, 1850 – 2023
Data for 1850-1990 based on Gibson, C., & Jung, K. (2006, February). Historical census statistics on the foreign-born population of the United States: 1850 to 2000. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2006/demo/POP-twps0081.html. In the public domain. Data for 2010 based on Grieco, E. M., Acosta, Y. D., Patricia de la Cruz, G., Gambino, C., Gryn, T., Larsen, L. J., Trevelyan, E. N., & Walters, N. P. (2012, May). The foreign-born population in the United States: 2010. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2012/acs/acs-19.html. In the public domain. Data for 2023 based on U.S. Census Bureau. (v2024). QuickFacts United States. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/. In the public domain.