Publications on Immigration

This section features selected Pew Research Center reports (since 2005) on immigration trends and analysis of their impact. Individual project websites may contain more reports related to this topic. In particular, please see Pew Hispanic Center for public opinion, economic, and other social science research related to Latino immigrants.

Updated Demographic Profiles of U.S. Hispanics by Country of Origin
15 Oct 09Five demographic profiles of Hispanic populations in the U.S. by country of origin -- Guatemalan, Colombian, Honduran, Ecuadorian and Peruvian -- have been added to the profiles of the five largest Hispanic populations -- Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran, and Dominican -- posted earlier in the year by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Pew Hispanic Center

The Changing Pathways of Hispanic Youths into Adulthood
7 Oct 09Even as their share of the young adult population has risen dramatically, young Latino adults in the United States have become more likely to be in school or the work force now than their counterparts were in previous generations.
Pew Hispanic Center

Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap
7 Oct 09Almost all Latino young adults say a college education is important, but only half say they themselves plan to get a degree. The reason for the disparity: Immigrants, who feel financial pressures to support a family, are half as likely as native-born Latinos to plan on graduating.
Pew Hispanic Center

Hispanics, Health Insurance and Health Care Access
25 Sep 09Six-in-ten Hispanic adults living in the United States who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents lack health insurance.
Pew Hispanic Center

Most Mexicans See Better Life in U.S.
Mexican Public Troubled by Crime, the Economy, Drugs and Corruption
23 Sep 09A survey of Mexico finds most dissatisfied with the direction of their country. Overwhelming numbers describe the economy, crime, drugs and corruption as very big problems. Many believe there is a better life in the U.S., would migrate if they had the chance, and would do so without authorization.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Demographic Profiles of U.S. Hispanics by Country of Origin
16 Sep 09More than eight-in-ten Hispanics self-identify themselves as being either of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran or Dominican origin. The characteristics of each group -- including the share that is foreign born, citizen (by birth or naturalization) and proficient in English -- is examined in five fact sheets.
Pew Hispanic Center

Americans Researching the Recession Also Look for Digital Diversions
10 Sep 09Most Americans who have turned to online sources for economic information have also used the internet to take their minds off of their financial troubles, especially younger online economic users.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Republican Party’s Dilemma
6 Aug 09The Sotomayor vote represents the dilemma the GOP faces coming out of its 2008 and 2006 election defeats: how to keep its base happy on the one hand and broaden its appeal to women, Latinos and young people, on the other.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Confidence in Obama Lifts U.S. Image Around the World
Most Muslim Publics Not So Easily Moved
23 Jul 09In many countries opinions of the United States are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office. Improvements in the U.S. image have been most pronounced in Western Europe, where favorable ratings for both the nation and the American people have soared. But opinions of America have also become more positive in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well. Signs of improvement in views of America are seen even in some predominantly Muslim countries.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

Recession Slows -- but Does Not Reverse -- Mexican Immigration
22 Jul 09The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the U.S. has declined sharply since mid-decade, but there is no apparent increase in the number of Mexican-born migrants returning home.
Pew Hispanic Center

A Profile of Puerto Ricans
13 Jul 09The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, has focused attention on the second-largest population of Hispanics living in the United States. Here's a look at the demographics of this group.
Pew Hispanic Center

Latino Children: A Majority Are U.S.-Born Offspring of Immigrants
28 May 09Hispanics now make up 22% of all children under the age of 18 in the United States -- up from 9% in 1980 -- and as their numbers have grown, their demographic profile has changed.
Pew Hispanic Center

Through Boom and Bust: Minorities, Immigrants and Homeownership
12 May 09The ups and downs in the U.S. housing market over the past decade and a half have generated both greater gains and larger losses for minority groups than for whites.
Pew Hispanic Center

Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008
15 Apr 09A record 12.7 million Mexican immigrants lived in the United States in 2008, a 17-fold increase since 1970. More than half (55%) are unauthorized.
Pew Hispanic Center

A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States
14 Apr 09Unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. are more geographically dispersed than in the past and are more likely than either U.S.-born residents or legal immigrants to live in a household with a spouse and children. But the recent rapid growth in the undocumented immigrant labor force has come to a halt. The new report also includes population and labor force estimates for each state.
Pew Hispanic Center

Hispanics and the Criminal Justice System: Low Confidence, High Exposure
7 Apr 09Latino confidence in the U.S. criminal justice system is closer to the low levels expressed by blacks than the high levels expressed by whites.
Pew Hispanic Center

The Rapid Growth and Changing Complexion of Suburban Public Schools
31 Mar 09Public school enrollment in the nation's suburbs has shot up by 3.4 million in the past decade and a half, with the primary driver of this trend being a near doubling of the Latino share of the student population.
Pew Hispanic Center

A Rising Share: Hispanics and Federal Crime
18 Feb 09Sharp growth in illegal immigration and increased enforcement of immigration laws have dramatically altered the ethnic composition of offenders sentenced in federal courts.
Pew Hispanic Center

Immigrant Latino Unemployment Rises Sharply
12 Feb 09Job loss data reveal a rapidly worsening situation for foreign-born Hispanics, native-born Hispanics and blacks in the labor market.
Pew Hispanic Center

On Obama's Desk: Economy, Jobs Trump All Other Policy Priorities
Environment, Immigration, Health Care Slip Down the List
22 Jan 09While it is not unusual for Americans to prioritize domestic over foreign policy, a new survey finds strengthening the economy and improving the job situation are higher priorities today than they have been at any point over the past decade, and the recent upward trend has been steep.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Hispanics and the New Administration: Immigration Slips as a Priority
15 Jan 09Latinos, who heavily supported Obama in the November election, rate such issues as the economy, health care and education as the more important issues facing the country. Hispanics were more likely to be first time voters than the general public.
Pew Hispanic Center

Hispanics and the Economic Downturn: Housing Woes and Remittance Cuts
8 Jan 09Latinos, especially the foreign-born, are feeling the sting of the economic downturn and, in some respects, even more so than the general population.
Pew Hispanic Center

Latino Workers in the Ongoing Recession: 2007 to 2008
15 Dec 08The current recession has seen a small but significant decline in the percentage of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force; however, the absolute number of immigrant Latinos working or seeking work still increased slightly over the last year.
Pew Hispanic Center

Non-Citizen Immigrant Households Suffer Sharp Decline in Income, 2006-2007
2 Oct 08The current economic slowdown has taken a far greater toll on households headed by non-citizens than it has on the U.S. population as a whole, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of new Census data.
Pew Hispanic Center

Undocumented Immigration Now Trails Legal Inflow, Reversing Decade-Long Trend
2 Oct 08Estimates now show that the unauthorized immigrant population grew more slowly from 2005 to 2008 than it did earlier in the decade, although its size has increased by more than 40% since 2000, and now constitutes 4% of the total U.S. population.
Pew Hispanic Center

Hispanics See Their Situation in U.S. Deteriorating
Large Majorities Oppose Most Key Immigration Enforcement Measures
18 Sep 08Increasingly widespread pessimism among Hispanics, as well as their strong opposition to federal enforcement policies, could well have consequences in the political arena.
Pew Hispanic Center

One-in-Five and Growing Fast: A Profile of Hispanic Public School Students
26 Aug 08The number of Latino students in public schools nearly doubled from 1990 to 2006, accounting for 60% of the total growth in school enrollments. Projections now show there will be more school-age Hispanic children than school-age non-Hispanic white children by 2050.
Pew Hispanic Center

Hispanics and Health Care in the United States: Access, Information and Knowledge
A Joint Pew Hispanic Center and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Report
13 Aug 08A Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study finds that more than one-fourth of Hispanic adults in the U.S. lack a usual health care provider, but when asked about why that is so, a plurality (41%) say the principal reason is that they are seldom sick.
Pew Hispanic Center

Explaining the English Language Learner Achievement Gap
26 Jun 08A new analysis finds that lagging scores of students designated as English language learners can be partly explained by their concentration in low-performing schools.
Pew Hispanic Center

Latino Labor Report, 2008: Construction Reverses Job Growth for Latinos
4 Jun 08The slump in the construction industry has taken a heavy toll on Latino workers. From a historic low in late 2006, the unemployment rate for Latinos rose sharply in 2007 and currently stands well above the rate for non-Latinos. Immigrant Latino workers have been hit especially hard.
Pew Hispanic Center

A Statistical Portrait of Hispanic Women in the U.S.
8 May 08Annual births to Hispanic women in the U.S. exceeded one million in 2006, and one-in-four children in the U.S. under age 5 is Hispanic. These and other interesting data are included in a new Pew Hispanic Center fact sheet.
Pew Hispanic Center

States Think Smaller, Slower On Immigration
3 Apr 08Under pressure from business groups and budget stringency, states are no longer rushing to pass immigration control measures.
Stateline.org

Immigration to Play Lead Role In Future U.S. Growth
U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050
11 Feb 08If current trends continue, immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their descendants will account for 82% of the population growth in the United States during this period, according to new projections from the Pew Research Center.
Pew Research Center

Do Blacks and Hispanics Get Along?
Yes, but Not Always, and Not about Everything
31 Jan 08In general the nation's two largest minorities think well of each other, but there are some important differences, a Pew survey finds.
Social & Demographic Trends

Arizona's Population Growth Parallels America's
Demography of the State's Population and Labor Force, 2000-2006
24 Jan 08How will Arizona's new law penalizing businesses for hiring unauthorized immigrants affect its labor force? The Pew Hispanic Center provides up-to-date estimates of the state's demographics as well as two other fact sheets analyzing the characteristics of the overall Latino population in the U.S. and of foreign-born immigrants of all origins.
Pew Hispanic Center

With Feds Stuck, States Tackle Immigration
13 Dec 07State lawmakers have taken widely divergent approaches to dealing with an influx of immigrants; some are rolling out welcome mats while others are slamming shut their doors.
Stateline.org

The Immigration Debate: Controversy Heats Up, Hispanics Feel a Chill
13 Dec 07The 2007 National Survey of Latinos finds that Hispanics in the U.S. are feeling a range of negative effects from increased public attention and stepped up enforcement measures.
Pew Hispanic Center

Hispanics and the 2008 Election: A Swing Vote?
6 Dec 07Earlier Republican Party gains among Latinos have dissipated in the past year, a new Pew Hispanic Center survey finds. Hispanics also comprise a sizable share of voters in four "swing states" that President Bush narrowly carried in 2004.
Pew Hispanic Center

English Usage among Hispanics in the United States
29 Nov 07A new analysis of six Pew Hispanic Center surveys finds a dramatic increase in English-language ability from one generation of Hispanics to the next.
Pew Hispanic Center

Between Here and There: How Attached Do Latino Immigrants Remain to Their Native Country?
25 Oct 07Most maintain some kind of connection to their native country, but only one-in-ten can be considered to be highly attached.
Pew Hispanic Center

World Publics Welcome Global Trade -- But Not Immigration
4 Oct 07A 47-nation survey finds broad support for the key tenets of economic globalization, including free trade, multinational corporations and free markets. Yet concerns exist about inequality, threats to traditional culture, threats to the environment and threats posed by immigration.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

1995-2005: Foreign-Born Latinos Make Progress on Wages
21 Aug 07Foreign-born Latino workers made notable progress between 1995 and 2005 when ranked by hourly wage. The proportion of foreign-born Latino workers in the lowest quintile of the wage distribution decreased to 36% from 42% while many workers moved into the middle quintiles.
Pew Hispanic Center

The Latino Electorate: A Widening Gap between Voters and the Larger Hispanic Population in the U.S.
24 Jul 07Latinos made up a slightly larger share of the total voter turnout in the 2006 election than in 2002; but, a new Pew Hispanic analysis finds, the Latino vote continued to lag well behind growth of the Latino population primarily because a high percentage of the new Hispanics in the U.S. are either too young to vote or are not citizens.
Pew Hispanic Center

"Frequently Asked Questions" about Pew's Muslim American Survey
The Facts behind the Design, Conduct and Analysis of a High-Profile Study
2 Jul 07A recent report, "Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream," attracted a great deal of attention but also raised a number of questions about the research. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Did Talk Hosts Help Derail the Immigration Bill?
PEJ's Index Finds that in Weeks Preceding the Senate Vote Failure, Immigration was the Second-Most Popular Talk Topic and that Critics of the Legislation Dominated the Airwaves
18 Jun 07PEJ's Talk Show Index finds immigration was the second-most popular topic from May 13-June 8, and airwaves discussion was dominated by hosts opposed to the legislation who often referred to it with the politically damning term "amnesty bill."
Project for Excellence in Journalism

Mixed Views on Immigration Bill
Democratic Leaders Face Growing Disapproval, Criticism on Iraq
7 Jun 07The public is ambivalent about the immigration bill being debated in the Senate, but a majority favors one of its key goals - providing a way for illegal aliens to become citizens. The public supports such a provision even when it is described as "amnesty," a new Pew survey finds.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

¡Here Come 'Los Evangélicos'!
6 Jun 07Next week's National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. illustrates the growing presence and increasing political influence of Latino evangelicals. If Republicans have a prayer of making deep inroads into the Hispanic community, evangelicals may well provide their most direct route.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners?
6 Jun 07As Congress considers reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, a new analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center of national standardized tests shows that the one-in-ten public school students designated as "English language learners" lag far behind whites in reading and math.
Pew Hispanic Center

A Slower Flow from Mexico?
Indicators Suggest a Recent Slowing of Migration across the U.S. Border
30 May 07While short-term changes in immigration flows are difficult to measure, several indicators suggest a possible slackening in migration across the U.S. border since mid-2006.
Pew Hispanic Center

Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream
22 May 07The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world.
Pew Research Center

Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion
25 Apr 07Hispanics are altering the profile of American religion by their growing numbers and by their distinctive practice of Christianity. A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life also finds Latinos' influence on U.S. politics and public affairs is strongly affected by the particular characteristics of their faith.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

The Immigration Divide
Reform is a Potential Wedge Issue for Both Republicans and Democrats
12 Apr 07With his renewed push for a comprehensive immigration bill, President Bush is advancing a potentially powerful political wedge issue, but one with an unlikely twist: Immigration fractures the president's own party at least as much as it divides the opposition.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Growing Share of Immigrants Choosing Naturalization
28 Mar 07Today's legal immigrants are signing on to a closer relationship with Uncle Sam more quickly and at higher rates than was the case a decade or two ago.
Pew Hispanic Center

Latinos Online
They're a lot less likely to use the internet, but lower education levels and limited English ability largely explain the gap between Hispanics and non-Hispanics in the U.S.
14 Mar 07A new joint report from the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that low levels of education and limited English ability largely explain the gap in internet use between Hispanics and non-Hispanics living in the U.S.
Pew Internet & American Life Project

Construction Jobs Expand for Latinos Despite Slump in Housing Market
Foreign-Born Fill Vast Majority of New Jobs
7 Mar 07Despite the housing slump, Hispanic workers find a ready market for their skills.
Pew Hispanic Center

Bush Builds on States' Agenda
24 Jan 07It's too soon to know how far the new Congress might go in accepting the president's State of the Union proposals on health care, energy, immigration and education, but states aren't waiting to find out - they've taken the lead on these domestic issues.
Stateline.org

Are You a Citizen? Prove It
8 Jan 07Worries about voter fraud, terrorism and illegal immigration are driving a surge in stiff new identification requirements. To weed out those who aren't citizens, all Americans increasingly need a paper trail to qualify for some of the perks of citizenship -- from driver's licenses to Medicaid help.
Stateline.org

Few Latinos Now Support the War in Iraq
Hispanics Favor Troop Withdrawals Even More Strongly Than Does the General Public
4 Jan 07Two out of every three Latinos now believe that U.S. troops should be brought home from Iraq as soon as possible and only one in four thinks the U.S. made the right decision in using military force, according to a new survey by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Pew Hispanic Center

Parsing the '06 Latino Vote
Hispanic Voters Returned to their '02 Pattern in Supporting Democrats
27 Nov 06Widely cited findings from the national exit polls suggest Latinos tilted heavily Democratic in the 2006 election, taking back most of the support they had granted the Republicans just two years earlier. Does that mean the Latinos who flirted with the Republican Party are now firmly back in the Democratic camp?
Pew Hispanic Center

Who Are the Immigrants?
A Statistical View of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade
17 Oct 06This Pew Hispanic Center statistical profile provides a detailed look at the foreign-born population in the United States. With a foreign-born population of over 35 million, who are these immigrants and what do we know about them?
Pew Hispanic Center

From 200 Million to 300 Million: The Numbers behind Population Growth
Hispanics account for most of last 100 million
10 Oct 06The U.S. population will reach 300 million some time this month. This fact sheet presents an analysis, by race/ethnicity and nativity, of the 100 million people who were added to the population since 1966-67. In addition, the fact sheet breaks down the U.S. population, again by race/ethnicity and nativity, when it was 200 million and at the 300 million mark.
Pew Hispanic Center

The Changing Landscape of American Public Education
New Students, New Schools
5 Oct 06Public school enrollment in the U.S. has risen sharply since the early 1990s, with Hispanic students accounting for about two-thirds of the increase. The growth has triggered a surge in new school construction, but two-thirds of the new facilities are not serving Hispanic students.
Pew Hispanic Center

Iraq Looms Large in a Nationalized Election
Congressional Race Unchanged After Foley's Resignation
5 Oct 06A new poll finds dismay about U.S. military action in Iraq at its highest level since the war began and many voters say the issue will be primary in their ballot decisions come November. Resignation of Rep. Foley has little impact so far.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

41.9 Million and Counting
A Statistical View of Hispanics at Mid-Decade
28 Sep 06A statistical view of Hispanics at mid-decade
Pew Hispanic Center

In Statehouses, 2006 is Year of Surpluses, Social Issues
14 Sep 06Minimum wage hikes and new rights of self-defense for crime victims have been popular with state lawmakers this year. Also, with a budget climate that's been the sunniest in six years, lawmakers have splurged on a host of new projects.
Stateline.org

Cubans in the United States
25 Aug 06A minority within a minority, Cuban-Americans are older, better educated and have a higher level of income than other Hispanics in this country. They also lean more toward the Republican Party.
Pew Hispanic Center

Does Immigration Hurt U.S. Workers?
24 Aug 06One of the questions at the heart of the immigration policy debate is whether the influx of workers from abroad hurts the employment prospects of U.S.-born workers. But it's a question with no simple answers, according to our analysis of state level employment data.
Pew Hispanic Center

Growth in the Foreign-Born Workforce and Employment of the Native Born
10 Aug 06Rapid increases in the foreign-born population at the state level are not associated with negative effects on the employment of native-born workers, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Pew Hispanic Center

2006 National Survey of Latinos: The Immigration Debate
13 Jul 06New survey finds Hispanics in the U.S. are feeling discriminated against, politically energized and unified following the immigration policy debate and the pro-immigration marches this spring.
Pew Hispanic Center

Muslims in Europe
Economic - Not Religious - Worries Top Their Concerns
6 Jul 06Muslims living in Europe worry about their future, and many say they have had a bad experience as a result of their religion or ethnicity. But Muslims there do not generally believe most Europeans are hostile toward people of their faith.
Pew Global Attitudes Project

'Enthusiasm Gap' Favors Democrats This Year
A Reversal from 1994
27 Jun 06A new poll finds Democrats more eager to vote, but also less happy with their party.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Optimistic Immigrant
Among Latinos, the Recently Arrived Have the Most Hope for the Future
30 May 06Hispanics in general, and recent immigrants in particular, are more inclined than blacks or whites to take an upbeat view about one of the most enduring tenets of the American dream -- that each generation will do better in life than the one that preceded it.
Pew Hispanic Center

The Overstayers
23 May 06Nearly half of all the unauthorized migrants now living in the U.S. entered the country legally, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center estimate.
Pew Hispanic Center

Attitudes Toward Immigration in Red and Blue
In Democratic-dominated counties, foreign-born residents are more populous - and more welcome
9 May 06New analysis finds predominantly Republican "red" as well as swing counties significantly more opposed to immigration - both legal and illegal - than are predominantly Democratic "blue" counties, where immigrants are much more populous.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Attitudes Toward Immigration: In Black and White
26 Apr 06African Americans are often more sympathetic to immigrants - except when it comes to jobs.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Attitudes Toward Immigration: In the Pulpit and the Pew
26 Apr 06Church leaders and members don't always agree about undocumented migrants.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Congress Faces Record Public Discontent
Anti-Incumbent Sentiment Echoes 1994
20 Apr 06Belief that this Congress has accomplished less than its predecessors is higher than at any point in the past nine years; Republican leaders take the blame.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

America's Immigration Quandary
No Consensus on Immigration Problem or Proposed Fixes
4 Apr 06Americans worry about unauthorized immigration, but disagree about specific policies to deal with it.
Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

The Complex Tapestry of the Undocumented
Day Laborers Are Just One Strand
28 Mar 06Ubiquitous as they are in the public debate over immigration, day laborers are only one part of a diverse population of unauthorized migrants
Pew Hispanic Center

Unauthorized Migrants Number 11.5-12 Million
7 Mar 06The population of unauthorized migrants in the U.S. is between 11.5 million and 12 million, according to a new report from the Pew Hispanic Center.
Pew Hispanic Center

States, Flush with Cash, Still Face Tough Issues
13 Feb 06From Medicaid to immigration, state lawmakers grapple with contentious issues as elections loom.
Stateline.org

The Occupational Status and Mobility of Hispanics
15 Dec 05Hispanics and whites perform different types of work in the labor market. Moreover, the occupational divide between the two largest segments of the labor force appears to be widening. The occupations in which Hispanics are concentrated rank low in wages, educational requirements and other indicators of socioeconomic status.
Pew Hispanic Center

Mapping the Political Landscape 2005
1 Sep 05The Center's report offers a richly textured portrait of the American electorate, including a new analysis of 2004 election returns that reveals the congruence between where people live and how they vote.
Pew Research Center

Trends 2005
20 Jan 05The first publication of the Pew Research Center explores American public opinion and values, religion and public life, media, the Internet, Hispanics, the states and global opinion.
Pew Research Center