(The Center Square) – The foreign-born population in the U.S. hit an all-time high in January, representing nearly 16% of the nation’s population, according to a new report.
The Center for Immigration Studies – an anti-immigration think tank – has been tracking the “size and growth” of the foreign-born population from the Current Population Survey, showing that the “immigration population (legal and illegal together) hit 53.3 million” in January, which the report notes is 15.8% of the total population in the U.S – setting record highs.
The report notes that the January survey “is the first government survey to be adjusted to better reflect the recent surge in illegal immigrants.”
“Without adjusting for those missed by the survey, we estimate illegal immigrants accounted for 5.4 million or two-thirds of the 8.3 million growth in the foreign-born population since President Biden took office in January 2021,” according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
The report shows between former president Barack Obama’s first term (January 2009) and the beginning of Biden’s term (January 2021), the immigrant population grew by 7.9 million. President Donald Trump had four of those years, from 2017-21.
The Center for Immigration Studies uses the terms “immigrant” and “foreign-born” interchangeably in this report. It says the foreign-born as defined by the Census Bureau includes all persons who were not U.S. citizens at birth – mainly naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, long-term temporary visitors, and people illegally in the country.
Steven Camarota, the center’s director of research, warns that the rapid increase in immigration could have major implications for the country, specifically the economy.
“America has entered uncharted territory on immigration, with significant implications for taxpayers, the labor market, and our ability to assimilate so many people,” said Camarota. “Sadly, those at the bottom of the economic ladder are the most adversely impacted.”
The report noted that the foreign-born population surpassed its prior peak from over 100 years ago, between 1890 and 1910, adding, “no U.S. government survey or census has ever shown such a large foreign-born population.”
For reference, the U.S. total population in 1910 was 92,228,531, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The report slams the U.S. Census Bureau for prior projections that only two years ago predicted the foreign-born population wouldn’t reach 15.8% until 2042. It noted the country has had an 8.3 million increase in the last four years, larger than the preceding 12 years. It added that the figures represent net growth, saying that new arrivals are offset by outmigration and deaths “in the existing immigrant population.”
“Our best estimate is that 11.5 to 12.5 million legal and illegal immigrants settled in the country in the last four years,” the report said. “Although some immigrants are missed by government surveys, our preliminary estimate is that there are 15.4 million illegal immigrants in the January 2025 CPS, an increase of more than 50% (5.4 million) over the last four years in the survey.”
The report shows that in the last four years, a majority (58% or 4.9 million) of the foreign-born population has come from Latin America, while India accounts for 12% (958,000), Middle Easterners for 8% (690,000), and Chinese for 7% (621,000).
The analysis notes of “all immigrants,” 60% are employed, underscoring that some are children, disabled, elderly, caregivers or “have no desire to work.”
The report highlighted that since 2000, the working immigrant population has increased 83% (31.7 million), representing 19.6% of all workers. The center estimates that “10.8 million illegal immigrants worked in the January 2025 data.”
“Illegal immigrants in particular are heavily concentrated in lower-skilled, lower-paid jobs, typically done by those without a bachelor’s degree,” the report said. “The rapid rise in immigrant workers has coincided with a significant increase in the share of U.S.-born (ages 16 to 64) men without a bachelor’s degree not in the labor force — neither working nor looking for work — from 20.3 percent in 2000 to 28.2 percent today.”
Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, the number of people apprehended while trying to enter the country illegally has dropped to its lowest level in recorded history in February.
In February, there were only 8,326 apprehensions and encounters reported at the southwestern border, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. In comparison, data shows 189,913 in February 2024, 156,630 in February 2023, and 166,010 in February 2022 – those figures don’t account for those who illegally entered or evaded capture.
