Immigration has shaped America from before it was even a country. English and French settlers moved into the area in droves. It became the United States after the Revolutionary War, but most of the people fighting that war and living in the country afterward had simply come from abroad. In this way, you could say that immigration is part of America’s DNA in a way you just cannot find in other countries.
But what about today? Immigration is still a big part of the process, but where do most immigrants come from in 2020?
The vast majority come from Mexico. In 2017, the most recent year for which the Pew Research Center has studied the data, they made up about 11.2 million of all immigrants. That is far and away the biggest share. In total, Mexican immigrants accounted for roughly 25% of the total. Though that is not a majority, it is the largest percentage from a single country.
Beyond that, other leading countries included:
- China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: 2.9 million
- India: 2.6 million
- The Philippines: 2 million
- El Salvador: 1.4 million
It should be noted that about 1 million people tend to legally immigrate yearly, so the above totals looked at the full population in the United States, not the number arriving in 2017. To a degree, then, the numbers show the long-term trends and demonstrate where immigrants have been traveling from consistently. The exact totals do vary from year to year.
Immigration can be complex and confusing, especially in 2020. Make sure you are well aware of all of the steps that you will need to take.
