Most Republican and Democratic leaders currently support legal immigration but adamantly oppose the illegal influx of hundreds of thousands of people each year across the U.S. border with Mexico. The data showed that more than 1.2 million newcomers settle legally or illegally in the United States each year with the vast majority going to a few states, notably California, New York, Florida and Texas. The 11.2 million immigrants who had arrived since 1990 and their 6.4 million children accounted for almost 70 percent of U.S. population growth over the decade. The United States is now issuing 700,000 to 900,000 permanent residency visas each year but up to half a million more immigrants enter the country illegally. The immigrant population grew by a record 5.7 million in the 1980s and by 8.6 million in the 1990s, another record.
Immigrants are also a major presence in several major cities.
Mexico accounted for 28 percent of all immigrants. The second-largest source country was China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, with just under 5 percent. That was followed by the Philippines with 4 percent and India with 3.5 percent. In 1998, almost 30 percent of immigrants in the labor force did not have a high school diploma, more than three times the rate for natives. But almost 11 percent of new arrivals held graduate or professional degrees.