4 ms·

Page 1315 (actually page 5 in the PDF) has a graph which illustrates an interesting fact that many people don't seem to be aware of. The percentage of foreign-b

Page 1315 (actually page 5 in the PDF) has a graph which illustrates an interesting fact that many people don't seem to be aware of. The percentage of foreign-born people living in the United States is the highest it's been in nearly a century. There are some interesting correlated facts (such as % of people living in the US that aren't citizens being similarly record-breaking). It seems crazy to me that this fact isn't part of the table stakes for any debate about US immigration. This isn't a liberal or conservative argument, it's just an acknowledgement of the fact that there's no precedent in living memory for the current number of foreign born, non-citizens living in America. It's possible to stake out many positions based on these facts. Depending on your persuasion you could argue that the road to citizenship needs to be easier because we're creating a disenfranchised underclass; or you could argue that America is under assault from foreign influences; or you could argue something else. But it seems like this hugely relevant fact doesn't even get discussed in most public or policymaking discourse.

mellow-lake-day 8y ago
14% of the population being foreign born doesn't seem that unsurprising or unexpected. Based on your comment I thought it would be much higher. My opinion: I am a believer that immigrants are the lifeblood of America and are the secret sauce that make it great. It's a nation for immigrants, by immigrants. I think we should encourage immigration on the basis that brain power is the resource that US needs and one that will be driving the growth of the next century.
- leereeves 8y ago
  > I think we should encourage immigration on the basis that brain power is the resource that US needs and one that will be driving the growth of the next century. That's a good argument for legal merit based immigration but not for illegal immigration or the majority of legal immigration that is family based.
Steve44 8y ago
> The percentage of foreign-born people living in the United States is the highest it's been in nearly a century. I think this is happening in a lot of countries, the capital cities in particular attract a large diversity of population. I was curious so spent a few minutes exploring figures. In London 36.7% are Foreign-Born, rising to 42.2% for Inner London. [0] Paris is about 21% [1] Berlin is 18.4% [2] New York city is 36%, Los Angeles is 41% [3] In 1976, less than one in four Sydneysiders was foreign born. Forty years later the figure is nearly 40 per cent. [4] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_London#Foreign-born_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_London#Foreig... [1] https://archive.vn/20150404125339/http://insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau_local.asp?ref_id=IMG1A&millesime=2011&typgeo=REG&typesearch=territoire&codgeo=REG+-+%CEle-de-France+(11)&territoire=OK https://archive.vn/20150404125339/http://insee.fr/fr/themes/... [2] https://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/business-location/economic-data/demographic-data https://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/b... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City#Immigration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City#... [4] https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2018/the-world-loves-sydney-australians-arent-that-fussed/ https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2018/the-world-loves-sydn...
- masonic 8y ago
  You are conflating cities with a country.
  - Steve44 8y ago
    No, it's an additional perspective hence I said "the capital cities in particular attract a large diversity of population".
- deogeo 8y ago
  Strongly depends on the city - Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Cairo, and Istanbul have hardly any foreign-born population, and with the exception of Kurds in Istanbul, are not very diverse either. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Beijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Beijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Moscow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Moscow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Egypt#Ethnic_groups https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Egypt#Ethnic_g... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul#Demographics
whack 8y ago
That's true. It's also worth pointing out from the same graph that today's "high immigrant population" is the same as what it was from the entire 1870-1910 period. A period that saw America rise from second-tier status to a world power. Most natives can trace some of their ancestry to the immigrants who arrived during this period.

mellow-lake-day 8y ago

14% of the population being foreign born doesn't seem that unsurprising or unexpected. Based on your comment I thought it would be much higher. My opinion: I am a believer that immigrants are the lifeblood of America and are the secret sauce that make it great. It's a nation for immigrants, by immigrants. I think we should encourage immigration on the basis that brain power is the resource that US needs and one that will be driving the growth of the next century.

leereeves 8y ago
> I think we should encourage immigration on the basis that brain power is the resource that US needs and one that will be driving the growth of the next century. That's a good argument for legal merit based immigration but not for illegal immigration or the majority of legal immigration that is family based.

Steve44 8y ago

> The percentage of foreign-born people living in the United States is the highest it's been in nearly a century. I think this is happening in a lot of countries, the capital cities in particular attract a large diversity of population. I was curious so spent a few minutes exploring figures. In London 36.7% are Foreign-Born, rising to 42.2% for Inner London. [0] Paris is about 21% [1] Berlin is 18.4% [2] New York city is 36%, Los Angeles is 41% [3] In 1976, less than one in four Sydneysiders was foreign born. Forty years later the figure is nearly 40 per cent. [4] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_London#Foreign-born_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_London#Foreig... [1] https://archive.vn/20150404125339/http://insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau_local.asp?ref_id=IMG1A&millesime=2011&typgeo=REG&typesearch=territoire&codgeo=REG+-+%CEle-de-France+(11)&territoire=OK https://archive.vn/20150404125339/http://insee.fr/fr/themes/... [2] https://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/business-location/economic-data/demographic-data https://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/b... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City#Immigration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City#... [4] https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2018/the-world-loves-sydney-australians-arent-that-fussed/ https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2018/the-world-loves-sydn...

masonic 8y ago
You are conflating cities with a country.
- Steve44 8y ago
  No, it's an additional perspective hence I said "the capital cities in particular attract a large diversity of population".
deogeo 8y ago
Strongly depends on the city - Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Cairo, and Istanbul have hardly any foreign-born population, and with the exception of Kurds in Istanbul, are not very diverse either. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Beijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Beijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Moscow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Moscow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Egypt#Ethnic_groups https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Egypt#Ethnic_g... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul#Demographics

whack 8y ago

That's true. It's also worth pointing out from the same graph that today's "high immigrant population" is the same as what it was from the entire 1870-1910 period. A period that saw America rise from second-tier status to a world power. Most natives can trace some of their ancestry to the immigrants who arrived during this period.