FAST FACTS — Immigration
CNN
(CNN) — Here’s a look at immigration to the United States.
Legal Immigration Statistics
2017: 1,127,167 people are granted lawful permanent residence in the United States. The top countries of origin of these “green card” recipients, or LPRs:
— Mexico: 168,980
— China: 66,479
— Cuba: 64,749
— Dominican Republic: 58,348
— India: 57,155
2017: The top U.S. states where legal permanent residents live are:
— California: 214,243
— New York: 139,409
— Florida: 127,609
— Texas: 110,126
— New Jersey: 54,440
2017: A total of 707,265 people become naturalized U.S. citizens.
Residents becoming naturalized citizens in 2017 had spent a median of eight years in LPR status. Immigrants born in Asia and Africa had the shortest wait time, six years, while those from North America had the longest wait time,11 years.
Undocumented Immigration Statistics
2017: The Department of Homeland Security estimates that there were 12.1 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in 2014, up from 11.6 million in 2010. The top countries of origin are:
— Mexico: 6.6 million
— El Salvador: 700,000
— Guatemala: 640,000
— India: 430,000
— Honduras: 400,000
— Philippines: 360,000
2014: The top U.S. states where unauthorized immigrants settle are:
— California (24 percent)
— Texas (16 percent)
— Florida (6 percent)
— New York (5 percent)
— Illinois (5 percent)
2016: 530,250 unauthorized immigrants are apprehended.
2016: 340,056 unauthorized immigrants are removed.
Unaccompanied Alien Children
Unaccompanied alien children (UAC — term used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection) are referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, for care while their immigration cases are adjudicated:
— FY 2017: 40,810
— FY 2016: 59,170
— FY 2015: 33,726
— FY 2014: 57,496
The top countries of origin for UAC (FY 2017):
— Guatemala (45 percent)
— El Salvador (27 percent)
— Honduras (23 percent)
About 68 percent of UACs are boys (FY 2017).
About 37 percent of UACs are between 15 and 16 years old (FY 2017).
The average length of stay in shelter care was 41 days (FY 2017).