Immigrants, or international migrants, are people who live in a country other than the one where they were born. They can be legally or undocumented, and may be part of legal immigration flows such as family (spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens), employment (a variety of categories, including unskilled workers and investors) and humanitarian (refuges and asylum seekers). There are more than 23.2 million immigrants in the United States, making up about 3 percent of the population. The vast majority are naturalized citizens, while another 23 million have not yet become naturalized. In addition, there are roughly 12.1 million people with at least one migrant parent.
The experiences and aspirations of the migrant population in the United States are complex. Despite high rates of employment and, for many, an improved situation relative to their county of birth, financial concerns remain prominent among those in the immigrant population. Additionally, some experience discrimination and unfair treatment at work, in their communities and in health care settings. Those who are likely undocumented face the added stress of fearing deportation.
Despite these challenges, most immigrants express positive feelings about their lives in the United States. Three-quarters of immigrants say that their standard of living is better than that of their parents at the same age, and nearly all expect their children’s standards of living to be better as well. In addition, in 2019, households led by unauthorized immigrants paid an estimated $3.4 billion in federal and state taxes and generated tens of billions in business revenue.
As with the rest of the world, international migration is a central issue in political and policy debates in the United States and many other countries. Opinions vary widely, with some advocating for severe reductions in U.S. immigration, while others endorse open borders or policies allowing for greater immigration depending on skill levels, economic needs and family connections.
In the United States, a wide variety of reasons drive people to leave their homes and seek a new place to live. The largest groups of U.S. residents tracing their ancestry are European, with more than 41.6 million identifying their origin or ancestry as being from Germany, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Those who enter the United States as refugees are generally admitted to the country because they have a “well-founded fear of persecution” in their home countries due to their race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion or national origin. The process of becoming a refugee depends on numerous factors, including the level of risk in their country of origin, whether they have family members already in the United States and which countries are considered safe enough to return to. It also varies depending on the type of program for which they apply, the status of their visa and the length of time they stay in the United States. The United States is the most restrictive country for refugee admissions in the world, with only a few hundred thousand refugees granted resettlement annually.