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The number of Americas immigrants, or foreign-born residents, has reached a historic high of46.2 million. That figure is the largest number of immigrants everrecordedin any government survey or U.S. census going back to 1850.

That record-breaking number is more than four times as large as the9.6 millionimmigrants in the country 50 years ago. Since then, Americas population has increased by 60 percent.

Todays U.S. foreign-born residents represent 14.2 percent of the nations population. That percentage is three times as large as the 1970 proportion of4.7percent, which is Americas historic low, and slightly less than the countrys record high of14.8percent in 1890.

Also, for the first time in Americas history, the demographic contribution of immigration has surpassed natural increase, which is simply the difference between births and deaths.

Between July 2020 to July 2021, Americas population grew by0.1 percent, which is thelowest rateof growth since the nations founding. The country gained392,665additional people, increasing thepopulation to331.8 million.

Of the countrys demographic increase during that 12-month period, immigration accounted for 62 percent of the gain and natural increase 38 percent. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic increasing deaths, the pandemic contributed to fewer births compared to recent years.

The immigrants countries of origin have changed markedly since the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act. Whereas in 1960 about84 percentof U.S. immigrants were from European nations and Canada, today those countries account for 13 percent of the foreign-born.

Todays immigrant population is made up of Mexicans and other Latin Americans, each group at around25 percent. Immigrants from Asia are at 28 percent, with China and India each a 6 percent and the Philippines at 4 percent. The remaining 9 percent come from other regions.

Americas immigrants are more settled in the country than in the past. In 2018, for example, nearlythree-quartersof U.S. immigrants had resided in the country for more than a decade.

The large majority, more than 75 percent, of the U.S. foreign-born population are lawful residents in the country. The remainder, nearly25 percent,are estimated to be unauthorized migrants.

Following the 1986 Immigration Reform and ControlAct,also known as the Reagan Amnesty, which legalized most unauthorized immigrants who arrived prior to Jan. 1, 1982, their numbers have grown steadily. From 1990 to 2007, for example, the number of unauthorized immigrants more thantripled, increasing from 3.5 million to a record high of 12.2 million in 2007.

Attempts for a Reagan-typeamnestyfor today's unauthorized immigrants have been proposed by the Biden administration. However, immigration reform has repeatedly stalled in Congress and theprospectsof providing a pathway to citizenship any time soon do not appear promising.

Given the lack of reform, some towns, the latest being New York City, are allowingnon-citizensand Dreamers to vote in municipal elections. Somestates, including Alabama, Arizona, Colorado and Florida, have adopted rules preempting attempts to adopt similar voting laws.

Estimatesof the unauthorized immigrant population vary depending on the methodology, the time period and the data sources. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that11.4 millionunauthorized migrants were living in the country in 2018, amounting to 3.4 percent of the population.

The number ofunauthorized migrants attempting to enter the U.S has recently reached the highest level in more than 20 years. In May, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that it caught180,034unauthorized migrants, which is the largest monthly total since 2000. In November the CBP encountered173,620illegal crossers at the southern border, a 140 percent increase compared to November 2020.

In the fiscal year 2021, nearly2 millionunauthorized migrants came in contact with immigration enforcement, with approximately88 percentof them resulting in expulsions. In addition, increasing numbers of unauthorized migrants are coming fromcountriesoutside Central America, including Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Venezuela and some African nations.

TheCensus Bureauexpects the number of immigrants living in America to continue increasing over the coming decades, reaching about54 millionby 2030 and 65 million by 2050. Those projections represent about15 percentof the population in 2030 and 17 percent in 2050, with both proportions greater than the countrys historic high levels around the late 19th to the early 20th century.

International migration is expected to exceed natural increase as the principaldriverof population growth in the coming decades. With the aging of Americas overall population and baby boomers reaching the oldest ages, deaths are expected to increase more rapidly than births. Consequently, by mid-century immigration is expected to be contributingtwiceas many people to Americas population as natural increase.

However, as has been witnessed during past years, immigration is sensitive to economic, social and political conditions as well as public health circumstances. Those conditions and circumstances are difficult to anticipate and may change abruptly, as has been witnessed with the coronavirus pandemic.

The projections prepared by the Census Bureau rely on historical trends and offer several assumptions about future immigration based largely on recent levels. In addition to the main series projection, alternativescenariosof high, low and zero immigration levels are also prepared.

In the coming decades, thepopulation projectionsin the main series assume an annual net immigration level of 1.1 million migrants. At that level, Americas population is expected to be about405 millionin 2060, an increase of 22 percent over todays population. However, if immigration were to stop, Americas population in 2060 is projected to be320 million, or nearly 4 percent smaller than it is today.

In sum, the key message is immigration will most likely continue to be a major, if not the predominant determinant of U.S. population growth. Consequently, Americas immigration can be expected to continue reaching historic highs.

JosephChamieis a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division and author of numerous publications on population issues, including his recent book,"Births, Deaths, Migrations and Other Important Population Matters."

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For the foreseeable future, immigration will fuel US population growth | TheHill - The Hill