What percent of Congress is Foreign-Born?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:
According to the data from the visual above, what portion of 119th Congress is foreign-born?
According to the data from the visual above, what year had the highest portion congress members who were foreign-born?
According to the data from the visual above, since the 90th Congress in 1960, describe the trend in the portion of Congress that is foreign-born and explain what you believe best explains that trend?
The number of foreign-born lawmakers in Congress has increased to 19, with two in the Senate and 17 in the House. The share of immigrants in Congress (4%) remains lower than historical highs, and it’s lower than immigrants’ share of the U.S. population overall (15.4% in 2024). What best explains the difference in the percentage of foreign-born Congress members compared to the percentage of foreign-born Americans?
Children of immigrants account for at least 61 lawmakers – 44 in the House and 17 in the Senate. This is down from at least 63 in the 118th Congress. It’s the first time the number of children of immigrants in Congress has decreased since the Center began tracking this information for the 115th Congress. Lawmakers who have at least one immigrant parent currently make up about 11% of all voting members. Considering the increasing rate of foreign-born Americans (as shown in the visual below*), predict what will happen to the percent of immigrants in Congress in the future.
Looking at all 80 immigrants and children of immigrants in the current Congress, Democrats make up a much larger portion of the group than Republicans. Among the 17 senators who are foreign born or have an immigrant parent, 12 are Democrats, four are Republicans (Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Jim Risch of Idaho, John Thune of South Dakota and Ted Cruz of Texas) and one is an independent – Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose father emigrated from Poland. Of the voting members of Congress who are immigrants or children of immigrants, Democrats (60) outnumber Republicans (19), continuing recent trends. One is an independent: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Why do you think that the majority of immigrant and children of immigrant lawmakers are Democrats instead of Republicans?
Members of Congress can be foreign born. What does Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution say about the eligibility of a foreign-born person to be the President of the United States and how would that relate to Elon Musk if he tried to run for the presidency?
According to the data from the visual below*, what region of the world do most foreign-born members of congress come from?
Nearly half of all immigrants, children of immigrants in the 119th Congress represent Western states. Why do you think that is?
With the current anti-immigrant policies of the trump administration, explain whether voters will reject foreign-born candidates in the 2026 elections?
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 your state delegation to the U.S. Congress: Your two senator and one member of the House of Representatives. Ask them to share their birth status (foreign or native born) and share their response with your classmates.
Get Creative
If the U.S. Congress were a sports team, what team would they be?
Learn More
Check out this list of all the U.S. Senators ever to be born outside of the United States. Then read the Pew Research Center Report on the percentage of congress that is foreign born (caution: naughty language, not appropriate for children).
