Washington, D.C., Oct. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies finds that one in five children born in the United States in 2014 had an immigrant mother. Based on an analysis of Census Bureau data, the Center estimates that nationally one in 13 births is to an illegal immigrant, totaling 300,000 births a year. One in eight births is to a legal immigrant. We also find that more than half of the births to immigrants (legal and illegal) are paid for by taxpayers, including 67 percent of births to illegal immigrants.
Steven Camarota, the Center’s director of research and co-author of the report, said, “The enormous number of births to legal and illegal immigrants may hinder assimilation as children from immigrant families will largely interact with only each other.” He also points out that “paying for so many births to immigrant mothers may be appropriate, but the large share who can’t provide for themselves without the help of American taxpayers raises serious questions about whether our current immigration system makes sense."
View the full report: https://www.cis.org/Report/Births-Legal-and-Illegal-Immigrants-US
National Picture:
- In 2014 one in five births (791,000) in the United State was to an immigrant mother (legal or illegal). Our best estimate is that legal immigrants accounted for 12.4 percent (494,000) of all births, and illegal immigrants accounted for 7.5 percent (297,000).
- The 297,000 births per year to illegal immigrants are more than the total number of births to all mothers in any state except California and Texas. They are also more than the total number of births in 16 states combined, plus the District of Columbia.
- The estimated 28,000 births to illegal immigrants in just the Los Angles metro area are more than the total number of births in any of 14 states or the District of Columbia.
- More than half (54 percent) of births to immigrants (legal and illegal) are entirely or largely paid for by taxpayers because the mother is on Medicaid or uninsured, including 67 percent among illegal immigrants. This rate is also high among natives at 42 percent.
- Of all births likely paid for by taxpayers, about one in four (429,000) was to an immigrant (legal or illegal). Illegal immigrants account for 11 percent (198,000) of all publicly funded births, and legal immigrants are another 13 percent (231,000).
- We roughly estimate that the cost to taxpayers for births to immigrants (legal and illegal) is $5.3 billion — $2.4 billion of which is for illegal immigrants.
- Although immigration adds enormously to the number of births, it raises the nation’s overall birth rate by only 4 percent, partly because immigrant fertility is not that much higher than that of natives.
States:
- In California, New Jersey, and New York, immigrants (legal and illegal) account for about one-third of all births. In Massachusetts, Nevada, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, Maryland, and Washington, immigrants account for one in four births. Immigrants account for one in five births in Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois, Arizona, Rhode Island, and Oregon.
- The states with the largest numbers of births to illegal immigrants are California with 65,000, Texas with 51,000, Florida with 16,000, Illinois with 14,000, Georgia with 13,000, New York with 12,000, and New Jersey and North Carolina with 11,000 each.
- The state with the highest share of births to illegal immigrants is Nevada, at nearly one in six. Births to illegal immigrants account for one in seven births in California and Texas.
- In North Carolina, Texas, and Georgia, three-fourth of births to illegal immigrants were likely paid for by taxpayers. In California, Florida, and New York, two-thirds of these births were likely taxpayer-funded. In Illinois and New Jersey, more than half were likely funded by the public.
Metropolitan Areas:
- Among the nation's largest metro areas, immigrant mothers (legal and illegal) account for half or nearly half of births in Miami, San Francisco, and San Jose. They account for two out of five births in Los Angeles and the New York City area. They are also one out of three births in the metro areas of Washington, D.C., Houston, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, and Las Vegas.
- Illegal immigrants account for more than one in seven births in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Jose, Dallas, and Houston. Typically between two-thirds and three-fourths of these births were likely paid for by taxpayers.