NEW YORK – The United States is expected to see a rise in new arrivals from India, Venezuela, and China. This includes individuals with legal visas as well as those seeking asylum at the southern border. Between 2021 and 2022, it is projected that the number of new arrivals from these countries will reach 900,000, contributing to an increase in the immigrant population. These findings are based on a Stateline analysis of upcoming census data.
Based on available data, Florida received the highest number of immigrants, followed by Georgia, Texas, Maryland, and North Carolina.
The arrival of new immigrants has helped address job vacancies and prevent population decline in major cities. However, it has also put pressure on schools and shelters from Texas to New York.
In July 2022, the US Census Bureau reported that there were 46.2 million immigrants residing in the US, compared to 45.3 million in July 2021. This represents an increase of 912,000 individuals.
Among these new immigrants, there was an increase of approximately 130,000 from India (a 5% increase), 122,000 from Venezuela (a 22% increase), and 86,000 from China (a 4% increase). The survey data encompasses US citizens, permanent residents, as well as both legal and illegal immigrants and migrants.
Florida experienced the largest one-year increase, with 208,000 new immigrants (a 5% increase). This includes an increase of 65,000 from Venezuela, 30,000 from Haiti, and nearly 18,000 from Peru. Detailed data regarding country of birth was provided for 28 states with significant immigrant populations through the American Community Survey Household Survey.
Georgia (up 85,000), Texas (up 77,000), Maryland (up 51,000), and North Carolina (up 47,000) also saw significant increases in their immigrant populations over the year.
On the other hand, California, Hawaii, and Colorado experienced declines in their immigrant populations, while smaller declines were observed in Alaska, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
origin country
The origin countries of immigrants play a role in determining their means of entry into the US. Indian and Chinese immigrants are more likely to arrive on legal visas, while individuals from Venezuela and other Central and South American countries often cross the border on foot, seeking asylum. This can result in a complex and lengthy legal process, with cases often pending for years in overwhelmed courts. Julia Gelt, associate director of the US immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, DC, highlighted the challenges faced by individuals in this situation.
The backlog in immigration courts has reached an all-time high, with the highest number of pending cases in Florida, Texas, California, and New York.
Most immigrants arriving from India and China are highly skilled workers and their families who hold education and investor visas commonly utilized in both countries. In 2022, controversial changes were made to investor visa policies to bolster job creation in rural and high-unemployment areas of the US. There have been allegations of real estate developers defrauding Chinese investors seeking visas.
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There have also been instances of migrants from India and China crossing the southern border and seeking asylum for reasons such as sexual orientation or communal violence.
In California (approximately 580,000), Texas (approximately 340,000), and New Jersey (approximately 270,000), Indian immigrants, including long-time residents and recent arrivals, are concentrated. Silicon Valley’s Santa Clara and Alameda counties in California have the largest county populations, with a combined total of approximately 250,000 individuals. These counties attract many high-skill visa applicants.
Venezuelan migrants, often fleeing political and economic turmoil, undertake arduous journeys through the jungles of Colombia and Panama to reach the US border and apply for asylum. As of 2022, nearly half of all Venezuelan-born US residents reside in Florida, with approximately 330,000 individuals out of a total national population of 668,000, primarily concentrated in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. An additional 100,000 Venezuelans live in Texas, primarily in Harris County, where Houston is located.
These numbers do not reflect the previous year, as border crossings remained high from mid-2022 to mid-2023.
scarce resources
Some asylum-seekers are voluntarily traveling to New York, the District of Columbia, and Chicago using buses provided as a service or as a form of protest organized by Republican governors. However, many of these travelers end up choosing different, less costly destinations or routes.
Currently, Venezuelan asylum seekers who pass screening at border checkpoints can receive humanitarian parole and eventually obtain work authorization. However, many find the process excessively lengthy and confusing, relying on charitable support while waiting for resolution of their asylum cases, as highlighted by Hector, co-founder of a New York non-profit organization assisting Venezuelan and other new immigrants.
“It’s worse like this because now people think they’re coming here just to make money, when in reality, they simply want to provide food and supplies for their families and have a roof over their heads,” said Arguinzones.
New York’s Democratic Governor, Kathy Hochul, has proposed granting work authorization at the state level to immigrants, describing it as the “only way to help asylum seekers become self-sufficient so they can transition to permanent residency.”
Democratic Mayor Eric Adams of New York City estimates that the influx of immigrants will cost the city $12 billion over the next three years in terms of providing shelter, services, and education to thousands of new arrivals.
Similarly, schools in Liberty County, Texas, located between Houston and Beaumont, face financial difficulties. The immigrant population in the county more than doubled from 2017 to 2022, reaching nearly 15,000 individuals, including an increase of over 2,000 between 2021 and 2022, with most immigrants originating from Latin America. Approximately 20% of this population consists of US citizens. The American Community Survey does not provide specific data on individual countries of birth for this county.
The Cleveland Independent School District in Liberty County has proposed a $125 million bond in the upcoming November ballot to construct additional schools. However, similar proposals have been rejected by voters in the past, according to Superintendent Stephen McCanless. McCanless acknowledged the challenge of recruiting sufficient licensed teachers to handle the influx of students, leading to the district’s practice of placing employees with two-year degrees in classrooms under teacher supervision.
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Regarding the district’s solution, McCanless stated, “We worked very hard to establish this program, but we had no other choice, and it turned out to be surprisingly successful.” Enrollment nearly doubled to approximately 11,000 students between the 2017-18 and 2021-22 school years.
McCanless noted that students are still arriving in the district, with over 1,300 new students joining during the first four weeks of the current school year. To address the lack of funding for new buildings, the district plans to acquire portable classrooms to temporarily accommodate students on sports practice fields.
In Michigan, India became the leading country of immigration, displacing Mexico. The top country of immigration also changed in Virginia, with India replacing El Salvador. The only other change occurred in Pennsylvania, where the Dominican Republic surpassed India as the top country of origin.
Notable increases were observed in the number of immigrants from Honduras (a 10% increase or 76,000 individuals) and Afghanistan (a 57% increase or nearly 71,000 individuals). Certain Afghans who supported the United States during the war in their country were offered humanitarian parole, legal residence, and work authorization through programs such as Operation Ally’s Welcome and Enduring Welcome, beginning in late 2021.
Immigration from Nicaragua rose by 15% or 39,000 individuals. However, the number of immigrants from Mexico, the largest immigrant group in the US (approximately 11 million individuals), declined by approximately 19,000 since 2021 and approximately 600,000 since 2017.
As of 2021, India and China are the second and third largest immigrant populations in the US, each comprising around 2.8 million individuals. While Indian immigration has increased by 9% or 229,000 since 2017, the Chinese immigrant population remains slightly lower than in 2017, at approximately 11,000 individuals, representing a decrease of less than 1%.
Source: sourcenm.com
