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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for October 24, 2017

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By Scott Rasmussen

The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

October 24, 2017: The Census Bureau estimates that 43.7 million immigrants lived in the United States as of July 2016.[1] That’s the highest total in the nation’s history and reflects an increase of 12.6 million since the year 2000.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, immigrants “comprised 13.5 percent, or one out of eight U.S. residents in 2016.” That’s “the highest percentage in 106 years.” By way of comparison, in 1980 “just one out of 16 residents was foreign-born.”

Just over a century ago, 14.7% of the nation’s population were immigrants. The Census Bureau projects that record will be broken in the next couple of decades. In fact, by 2060, the Bureau estimates that immigrants will account for 18.8% of the population.[2]

U.S. immigrant population.jpg

Earlier Numbers of The Day have noted that 64% believe growing racial and ethnic diversity makes America better.

Additionally, 84% of voters believe being truly American means accepting people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds.

Some have theorized that the result of all this immigration will lead America to become a minority-majority country. However, that may not be the case since 60% of second-generation Mexican immigrants describe themselves as typical Americans. On top of that, large numbers of people that the Census Bureau classifies as Hispanic or Latino consider themselves to be white.

Finally, 17% of newlyweds marry across racial & ethnic lines.


Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.


Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.

The Number of the Day is broadcast on local stations across the country. An archive of these broadcasts can be found here.

Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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