What percent of the American population is foreign-born?
Data Scavenger Hunt
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above:
As of the 2010 U.S. census what percentage of Americans were foreign born (Not U.S. citizens at birth)?
As of 1850, what percent of the U.S. population was foreign born in 1850?
Describe one long term trend in the foreign-born population(since about 1850) and one short term trend (since about 1970).
Explain whether it would be possible to estimate the total American population in 2010 based only on the information provided in the visual above.
According to the most recent data from the American Community Survey, as of 2020 the percent of the population that was foreign-born was 13.7% for a total of 44.9 million people. Based on this new data and the trends you see in the visual above, predict the % and number of the foreign-born population in the U.S. in 2030.
Big Brain Questions
Answer these questions by yourself using your brain and the links below:
List one thing the chart makes you wonder:
None of the Framers of the Constitution were born American citizens (they were all British citizens). Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States and not a British subject. What might a Native American (American Indian) say to an American who was concerned about the percent of people living in this land who were not citizens at birth?
If you asked the average American to guess the percent of foreign born citizens what do you think they would guess?
Recently, we have heard a lot about foreign born people being bused or flown from Red states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida to Blue states/districts like Massachusetts, New York City, and Washington D.C. Why do you think this is happening and how does it relate to the data from the chart above?
What would you tell a foreign-born person hoping to immigrate to the United States about the best and worst thing about the United States.
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Contact President Joseph Biden and suggest one thing he could do regarding the size of the foreign-born population.
Get Creative
Breaking news: 2050 - Foreign born American outnumber those born in the United States. Make a creative response to this scenario.
Learn More
Explore these Census Bureau tables about the foreign born population and learn more about the American foreign born population by reading the U.S. census report and these fantastic interactive resources from the Pew Research Center on the foreign born population!