The new immigrant survey and research on American stratification

Abstract

In 1970, the foreign born percentage of the United States dropped below 5% for the first and only time in American history. Since that date a remarkable revival of mass immigration has transformed the nation. From a historical nadir of 4.7% in 1970, the percentage foreign born rose to 12.2% in 2009. Another 11% of all Americans in that year were the children of immigrants, meaning that nearly a quarter of the U.S. population is presently in its first or second generation of U.S. residence. Between 2000 and 2009, international migration accounted for 35% of U.S. population growth and the children of immigrants now comprise a quarter of all births. The nation is quickly moving toward a new demography where no racial or ethnic group will comprise a clear majority. Indeed, in 2010 only half of all American births were to non-Hispanic white mothers. Given the legacy of race in the United States, this radical transformation of American immigration and its attendant effects on the nation’s racial and ethnic composition necessarily carry profound implications for patterns and processes of stratification.