U.S. Immigration: National and State Trends and Actions Overview
Foreign-Born, 2010
Unauthorized Immigrants, 2010
The federal government maintains primary authority over immigrants’ admission into and removal from the United States as a matter of law. Historically, the states have been largely responsible for the practical aspects of absorbing and integrating immigrants into their communities. But the relationship between the federal government and the states has evolved over time, becoming more of a partnership, and the states are playing a more active role in creating policies. These developments have led to new areas of cooperation and conflict between the levels of government.
This dynamic coincides with changes over the past three decades in the size and distribution of the nation’s foreign-born population. For years, immigrants were largely concentrated in a few states, but today, significant numbers live in all 50 states. These maps illustrate the growth of the foreign-born population in the states from 1980 to 2010, and the text provides a snapshot of key immigration-related activities at the federal and state levels.
This is not a comprehensive analysis of immigration laws, policies, and other factors that have shaped the relationship between the federal government and the states. The Pew Charitable Trusts is not drawing any conclusions about causal relationships between these developments. This is intended only to provide historical context for today’s discussions on immigration and the states.
The foreign-born population in 1980
- In 1980, the foreign-born population of the United States was 14.1 million, or 6.2 percent of the total U.S. population, an increase over the historic low of 4.7 percent in 1970.
- More than 60 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population lived in five states (California, New York, Florida, Texas, and Illinois). Twenty-five percent of all foreign-born residents lived in California, 17 percent in New York, and 7.5 percent in Florida.
- An estimated 2.1 million unauthorized immigrants were included in the 1980 Census, representing 0.9 percent of the U.S. population.
- Eighty-one percent of all unauthorized immigrants lived in five states (California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Florida). Half lived in California.
Select state action before 1980
- In the 1970s, 12 states enacted legislation prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring unauthorized workers.
- Several states passed laws denying welfare, education, and other public benefits to individuals based on their immigration status.
Select federal legislation and action before 1980
- Abolished the decades-old national-origins quota system that restricted the number of visas that could be allocated to certain national origin groups.
- Replaced that quota system with the system still in place today that allocates permanent resident visas within a multi-category “preference system” for certain close relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents (family-based immigration) and for persons with special occupational skills, abilities, or training (employment-based immigration). Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and some other categories of noncitizens can be admitted for permanent residence without numerical limit.
- Established a numerical restriction of 170,000 permanent resident visas for the entire Eastern Hemisphere and a 20,000 per-country limit for that region of the world.
- For the first time in U.S. history, the Western Hemisphere was subject to an annual numerical limit of 120,000 permanent resident visas, with no per-country limits.
- In 1976, countries in the Western Hemisphere became subject to the 20,000 per-country limit and the preference system.
- In 1978, the numerical limits for the two hemispheres were combined into a single worldwide cap of 290,000 total permanent resident visas.
- Graham v. Richardson, 1971
- The Supreme Court found that states could not deny state welfare benefits to lawfully residing individuals based on their immigration status.
- De Canas v. Bica, 1976
- The Supreme Court found that state laws sanctioning employers for hiring unauthorized workers could be enforced and were not preempted by federal law. (Congress did not enact legislation regulating the employment of noncitizens until 1986 with the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act.)
The foreign-born population in 1990
- Foreign-born residents made up 7.9 percent of the total U.S. population in 1990, up from 6.2 percent in 1980. The foreign-born population increased from 14.1 million in 1980 to 19.8 million in 1990.
- Thirty-three percent of the foreign-born population lived in California, 14 percent in New York, and 8 percent in Texas.
- Approximately 3.5 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States in 1990 (1.4 percent of the total U.S. population).
- Seventy-eight percent of all unauthorized immigrants lived in five states (California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Florida); 43 percent of all unauthorized immigrants lived in California.
Select state action 1980-1990
- Around this time period, more than 20 cities and states passed “sanctuary” laws and resolutions. Some declared that Salvadorans and Guatemalans fleeing civil wars in their home countries and denied asylum in the United States could remain without fear of arrest for immigration violations in their jurisdictions. Others went further and prohibited state and local government workers from inquiring about anyone’s citizenship status or from sharing information about individuals’ immigration status with federal immigration officials.
- Eleven states made English their official language. Three had done so before 1980.
Select federal action 1980-1990
- Enacted a standard definition of “refugee” that partially incorporated international standards into domestic law, created the legal status of asylum, and established a domestic program to resettle refugees within the United States.
- Reduced worldwide cap on permanent resident visas from 290,000 to 270,000.
- Created a process that allowed about 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants who had arrived before 1982 to obtain legal status.
- Created a process that allowed an additional 1 million unauthorized agricultural workers to obtain legal status.
- Created penalties for employers who knowingly hired unauthorized immigrants and a procedure for employers to check the work authorization of new employees. Also established civil rights protections to safeguard workers from discrimination by employers.
- Included State Legalization Impact Assistance Grants to reimburse states for costs related to legalization.
- Plyler v. Doe, 1982
- The Supreme Court ruled that states and localities cannot deny K-12 public school education to children based on their immigration status.
Foreign-born population in 2000
- Foreign-born residents made up 11 percent of the U.S. population in 2000, an increase of 3.1 percentage points from 1990. The foreign-born population increased from 19.8 million in 1990 to 31.1 million in 2000.
- States that traditionally did not have many immigrants in their populations experienced large growth in their foreign-born populations from 1990 to 2000. In North Carolina, the foreign-born population increased from 1.7 percent of the population in 1990 to 5.3 percent in 2000. In Nevada, the foreign-born population increased from 8.7 percent of the population in 1990 to 15.8 percent in 2000.
- The unauthorized population grew from 1.4 percent to 3.0 percent of the total U.S. population from 1990 to 2000. There were 8.4 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States in 2000.
- Sixty-two percent of unauthorized immigrants lived in five states (California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Florida). Only 27 percent of this population lived in California in 2000, down from 43 percent in 1990. Unauthorized immigrants made up at least 2 percent of the total population of 21 states and the District of Columbia.
Select state action 1990-2000
- Arizona, California, Florida, New Jersey, and New York sued the federal government for reimbursement for money spent on services—including health care and education—for unauthorized immigrants. The lawsuits were ultimately dismissed by federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the cases.
- In 1994, California passed a resolution demanding that the federal government compensate the state for spending on services for unauthorized immigrants and that it enforce immigration laws.
- In 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, which excluded unauthorized immigrants from all state services and benefits, including health care and public education; required service providers to report suspected unauthorized immigrants; and required law enforcement officials to check immigration status and report unauthorized immigrants to federal authorities.
- Several states, including California, Colorado, and Arizona, explicitly barred unauthorized immigrants from eligibility for state driver’s licenses. In other states, unauthorized immigrants were effectively ineligible for licenses because they could not provide the required documents, such as Social Security numbers.
Select federal action 1990-2000
- Raised the annual cap on permanent resident visas to 675,000 per year beginning in 1995, with 480,000 allocated for family-based immigration and 140,000 for employment-based immigration.
- Created a “diversity visa program” making 55,000 visas available each year for immigrants from countries with low levels of migration.
- Created the H-1B temporary visa for highly skilled workers and the H-2B temporary visa for nonagricultural seasonal workers.
- Created the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program to reimburse states and localities for costs incurred for incarcerating unauthorized immigrants convicted of crimes.
- Increased the penalties for noncitizens who commit crimes and created new grounds for excluding and deporting noncitizens from the United States.
- Provided for additional Border Patrol agents, fencing, and technology along the southern border.
- Created an electronic employment authorization verification program.
- Prohibited states and localities from restricting information sharing between state and local agencies and federal immigration authorities.
- Created the 287(g) program to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with the federal government to receive immigration law-related training and enforce federal immigration laws.
- Included a provision intended to prevent states from extending in-state tuition benefits to unauthorized immigrants.
- Made legal permanent residents and certain other lawfully residing immigrants ineligible for federal means-tested public benefit programs (such as Medicaid) for the first five years after receiving the relevant status.
- Confirmed that unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for any federal public benefits.
- Allowed states to provide fully state-funded benefits to immigrants who are ineligible for federal programs.
- Authorized state and local police to arrest and detain unauthorized immigrants who have previously been convicted of a felony in the country.
- Proposition 187 in California declared unconstitutional
- In November 1997, a federal judge ruled Proposition 187 unconstitutional because it infringed on the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over matters relating to immigration. After an initial appeal, the case was settled in 1999 and was not heard by a higher court.
Foreign-born population in 2010
- Foreign-born residents made up 13 percent of the U.S. population in 2010, an increase of 2 percentage points from 2000. The foreign-born population of the United States increased from 31.1 million in 2000 to 40 million in 2010.
- All states experienced growth of 10 percent or more in foreign-born population throughout the decade. (The District of Columbia experienced 9 percent growth.) In Alabama, the foreign-born population increased from 2 percent of the state population in 2000 to 3.6 percent in 2010. In South Carolina, the foreign-born population increased from 2.9 percent of the state’s population in 2000 to 4.6 percent in 2010.
- The unauthorized population continued to grow through 2007, when it reached 12.4 million. This population leveled off at 11.2 million (3.6 percent of the total U.S. population) in 2010.
- Fifty-five percent of unauthorized immigrants lived in five states (California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Florida); 23 percent of the unauthorized population lived in California in 2010. Unauthorized immigrants made up at least 2 percent of the total population of 28 states and the District of Columbia.
Select state action 2000-2013
- States and localities introduced thousands of immigration-related bills and enacted more than 1,000 laws.
- By 2012, 30 states explicitly required proof of lawful immigration status for a person to receive a driver’s license, and 18 other states had de facto requirements created by agency policy or applicants’ inability to provide documents required to obtain a license. Only New Mexico and Washington did not have what are known as “lawful presence” requirements. Utah offered a driver’s certificate to those who could not prove legal presence. In 2013, at least seven states passed legislation allowing unauthorized immigrants to get licenses. Other states passed laws or otherwise clarified policies regarding driver’s license eligibility for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program. (This is a federal initiative that temporarily suspends the deportation of certain people residing unlawfully in the United States who were brought here as children, graduated from U.S. schools, and meet other eligibility criteria.)
- More than 60 state and local law enforcement agencies in more than 25 states signed formal 287(g) agreements with the Department of Homeland Security to train and deputize law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
- In 2010, Arizona passed a broad immigration enforcement law, SB 1070, which required police to inquire about immigration status during any lawful stop or arrest, made it a misdemeanor to fail to carry proper immigration documents, and made it unlawful to transport, move, conceal, harbor, or shield unauthorized immigrants. Several other states passed similar laws.
- Approximately one-half of the states and the District of Columbia expanded health-care coverage to include certain immigrant women and/or children.
- More than 10 states passed laws that allow students who meet eligibility requirements to pay in-state tuition rates at public postsecondary institutions, regardless of their immigration status.
- In 2007, Arizona passed the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which penalizes employers who hire unauthorized workers by rescinding their business licenses.
Select federal action 2000-2013
- Moved many of the immigration functions of the U.S. government from the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice to the newly created Department of Homeland Security.
- Created three new agencies within the Department of Homeland Security: Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- Implemented new procedures to review visa applicants and required that travel and entry documents be machine-readable and tamper-resistant and include biometric identifiers.
- Created national standards for driver’s licenses, and only those licenses that meet the standards can be accepted as a federal form of identification for certain purposes such as boarding an airplane. Provides that only certain noncitizens are eligible for these REAL ID-compliant licenses. Although unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for such licenses, states may decide to issue licenses or other documentation that would allow eligible recipients to drive in the state. These licenses could not be used as a federal form of identification.
- The REAL ID Act has not been fully implemented. About half of the states have passed laws or resolutions opposing the federal law.
- Authorized hundreds of additional miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
- In 2002, a regulatory amendment to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program gave states the option to provide prenatal coverage for unborn children, regardless of the immigration status of the mother.
- In 2009, the Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act gave states the option to restore Medicaid for legal immigrant children and pregnant women without a five-year waiting period.
- Created to help identify noncitizens in U.S. jails who are deportable under immigration law. Arrestees’ fingerprints are submitted to the federal government and checked against immigration databases, allowing immigration officials access to information on individuals held in jails.
- In 2011, Secure Communities was made mandatory for all jurisdictions.
- The executive branch implemented an initiative to temporarily suspend the deportation of certain people residing unlawfully in the United States who were brought to this country as children, graduated from U.S. schools, and meet other eligibility criteria.
- Whiting v. Chamber of Commerce, 2011
- The Supreme Court found that Arizona’s 2007 law penalizing employers who hired unauthorized immigrants by rescinding their business licenses was not preempted by federal law and could be enforced.
- Arizona v. United States, 2012
- The Supreme Court struck down three provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 because they conflicted with federal law. The court left a fourth provision open to future legal challenges.
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