Imigration stats last 10 years
Executive summary
Over the past decade U.S. immigration has been characterized by swings driven by policy, enforcement, and global events: total foreign‑born population rose to roughly 47–52 million depending on source and year, lawful permanent resident (green‑card) admissions and refugee flows fell sharply during the pandemic and then partially recovered, while enforcement actions and deportations have fluctuated with administrations and priorities [1] [2] [3]. Projections now show shifting net‑immigration expectations through the 2020s as agencies revise historical baselines and methods [4].
1. Overall size and composition: the foreign‑born population and legal status
Recent federal and independent compilations put the foreign‑born population in the United States in the high‑40s to low‑50‑million range — for example, the Census‑based American Community Survey counted about 47.8 million foreign‑born residents in 2023 while other aggregators reported roughly 51–52 million through mid‑2025 — and roughly three‑quarters of that group are in the country with some form of lawful status (naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, or temporary visa holders) according to Migration Policy and other summaries [1] [5] [6].
2. Lawful permanent residents, naturalizations and visas: peaks, pandemic trough and recovery
Lawful permanent resident admissions peaked in the mid‑2010s (about 1.18 million in 2016) then declined sharply around the COVID period in 2020 before rebounding partly in subsequent years; refugee admissions also saw dramatic policy‑driven swings — from about 85,000 in 2016 to lows near 11,000 in 2021 and recovery into the tens of thousands thereafter — trends documented across DHS yearbooks and independent summaries [7] [2] [3]. USCIS maintains detailed breakdowns of naturalizations, adjustment of status inventories, and form‑level flows that show processing delays and later recoveries but must be consulted directly for precise year‑by‑year tables [8].
3. Unauthorized population, enforcement and removals: a complicated picture
Estimates of the unauthorized population have varied over the past decade and enforcement metrics moved unevenly: ICE removals numbered in the hundreds of thousands in mid‑decade years (for example several hundred thousand removals reported in FY2016–2018), while recent years have seen intensified arrests and detention capacity debates; sources compile enforcement data differently so counts of arrests, people detained, and removals should be cross‑checked between DHS yearbooks, TRAC, and advocacy trackers for nuance [7] [9] [3]. The Congressional Budget Office also highlights that categories like “other‑foreign‑nationals” and INA nonimmigrants (including parolees and those awaiting proceedings) materially affect net‑immigration projections and policy interpretations [4].
4. Geographic and state patterns: where immigrants live and work
State‑level distributions remain concentrated in traditional hubs — New York, California, Florida, Texas and metropolitan centers — though analyses show modest shifts in shares and growth rates across states; worldpopulationreview and American Immigration Council materials map those concentrations and emphasize immigrants’ outsized role in entrepreneurship and certain labor markets such as healthcare and tech [10] [11].
5. Projections, policy sensitivity and competing narratives
Longer‑term projections depend heavily on recent historical baselines and methodology: the CBO revised net‑immigration forecasts after changing historical inputs and projection methods, concluding lower net immigration through 2025–2033 than prior projections in part because of reclassified categories and updated historical data [4]. Public narratives — ranging from alarm about “unprecedented” enforcement to reassurance about immigrants’ economic contributions — often reflect the agendas of their sources (advocates, think tanks, administrations) and require triangulation with primary DHS and Census data [9] [12] [1].
6. Limits of available reporting and where to look for the numbers
Available public reporting provides robust series on green‑card grants, naturalizations, refugee admissions, detention counts and removals in DHS yearbooks and agency dashboards, plus synthesis from Migration Policy Institute, CIS and independent data portals; however, precise counts for some categories (unauthorized entries, overstays, parolee cohorts) are model‑based and sensitive to definitional choices, so the best practice is to consult DHS Yearbook tables, USCIS data releases, and the Migration Policy frequently‑requested compendium for authoritative year‑by‑year tables [3] [8] [1] [13].