Asians Will be Largest Immigrant Group in the U.S. by 2065 Study Says

Over the next 50 years, Asians are predicted to be the largest immigrant group in the U.S. according to the study done by Pew Research Center. The company conducted the survey online from March 10 until April 6 this year, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percent.

Changes in immigration patterns

Based on the new study on immigration patterns, there will be a major shift over the course of 50 years, which will see Asians becoming the largest group that will seek a new life in the United States. According to the analyzed data, the tipping point will occur in 2055, with the estimates extended up to year 2065. By that year, 38 percent of immigrants will be Asians, while Hispanics will make up 31 percent.

The U.S. population growth will further increase due to Hispanic and Asian immigration. About 18 percent of the projected U.S. population of 441 million in 50 years will be composed of foreign-born residents. It will be a record increase, compared to the 15 percent wave of European immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century.

In 1965 only 5 percent of the population were immigrants. Today they make up 14 percent of the U.S. population. The study also finds that White immigrants will be around 18 to 20 percent while Black immigrants will be at around 8 to 9 percent.

Data analyzed

The data used to develop the projections for the study was a combination of Pew’s own data combined with the information gathered from the Census Bureau.

Mark Hugo Lopez, the director of Hispanic research at Pew explained that the shift is partly due to the fertility rate of Hispanic women in Mexico and Latin America. He said that women in Mexico are currently having only two children compared in the 60s and 70s when it was almost normal for a woman to have about seven offsprings. He added that there are fewer people from Mexico who want to migrate whereas there is an increasing number of immigrants from India and China who come to the United States to work in the country’s high-tech industries or to pursue higher education.

Leveled out averages

The Asian population in the U.S. will generally be made up of foreign-born immigrants, whereas the Hispanic population will continue to grow through U.S. births. In their projections, Pew revealed that there would be no major ethnic or racial group in the U.S. Whites will comprise 46 percent; Hispanics, 24 percent; Asians, 14 percent and Blacks will comprise 13 percent. Currently, the population is a mix of Whites, 62 percent; Hispanics, 18 percent; Blacks, 12 percent and Asians, 6 percent. About 45 percent of Americans agree that immigrants make the U.S. a better country.

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