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America's foreign-born population has significantly changed over the past 250 years, according to new U.S. Census Bureau analysis released on Tuesday.
The report, published after the U.S. celebrated its 250th anniversary, outlines changes in the nation's foreign-born population from the first collection of birthplace data in the 1850 Census through to 2024.
The Census Bureau defines the foreign-born population as people who were not U.S. citizens at birth, including naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary migrants, refugees, asylees and unauthorized migrants.
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While the nation's first census was conducted in 1790, it was not until 1850 that every free resident was asked where they were born. At that time, the foreign-born population totaled about 2.2 million people, representing 9.7 percent of the U.S. population.
Over the following decades, immigration surged. The foreign-born share of the population climbed from 9.7 percent in 1850 to 14.4 percent by 1870 and reached a then-record of 14.8 percent in 1890, according to new Census Bureau analysis released on Tuesday.
From 1920, the share of the foreign-born population began to consistently decline, and by 1970 it accounted for only 4.7 percent of the population. By 2024, it had climbed to its largest number ever, 50.2 million, equating to 14.8 percent of the total U.S. population.
In 1850, 92.2 percent of the nation's foreign-born residents were born in Europe and the continent remained the dominant source of immigration through the early 20th century. During that time European migrants were drawn to America by pull factors such as economic opportunity and the promise of mobility in a growing republic, as well as push factors such as famine in Ireland and the persecution of Jews in Eastern Europe.
From the 1840 to the 1880s Chinese laborers also arrived to work in western goldfields and on the transcontinental railroad. Their numbers were not as notable, partly because the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 acted as the first major federal restriction on immigration and set a precedent for nationality-based exclusion.
Through the 1930s, the Census Bureau said that there was little shift as federal immigration policies of the time used quotas that reflected national-origin representation in past census numbers.
A major turning point then came with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, commonly known as the Hart-Celler Act. This eliminated the longstanding national-origins quota system and replaced it with a framework emphasizing family reunification, employment-based immigration and refugee admissions.
Per the Census Bureau data, the policy shift resulted in a significant growth in immigration from outside Europe. The share of foreign-born residents from Latin America increased by at least 10 percentage points during each decade from 1960 to 1990, and surpassed the share from Europe for the first time after 1980.
At the same time, immigration from Asia accelerated. The Census Bureau attributed this growth in part to refugee resettlement following the Vietnam War and demand for skilled workers.
Between 1970 and 1980, the Asian share of the foreign-born population increased from 8.9 percent to 19.3 percent. By 1990, more foreign-born residents came from Asia than from Europe.
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Today, 51.4 percent of the foreign-born population originates from Latin American countries, while 30.8 percent comes from Asian countries, according to the Census Bureau.
Europe, once the dominant source of immigration, now accounts for 9.7 percent of foreign-born residents. Another 5.9 percent come from African countries.
The Census Bureau's analysis therefore shows that, over the last 250 years, the foreign-born share of the population has returned to levels last seen in the late 19th century, but that the origins of those newcomers have changed profoundly.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips
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