Will comprise of 38% of foreign-born population, by 2065.
By Raif Karerat
Asians are on track to surpass Latinos as the United States’ largest immigrant group within the next half-century, according to new data published by Pew.
Asian immigrants are projected to make up a larger share of all immigrants, becoming the largest immigrant group by 2055 and making up 38 percent of the foreign-born population by 2065. However, Latinos will remain a larger share of the nation’s overall population.
Immigrants and their children are likely to make up 88 percent of the country’s population growth over the next 50 years, according to the study.
The foreign-born, who made up just 5 percent of the nation’s population in 1965, when Congress completely rewrote the country’s immigration laws, make up 14 percent today, the study found. They are projected to be 18 percent of the population by 2065.
Currently, Americans have a more positive outlooks on Asian immigrants than Latinos, according to a survey Pew performed along with its population projections.
Nearly half of American adults, 47 percent, said immigrants from Asia have had a mostly positive effect on American society. Only 26 percent said the same about immigrants from Latin America, with 37 percent saying they thought the effects of Latin American immigration had been mostly negative.
Immigrants from the Middle East fared even worse in the court of public opinion, with a mere 20 percent of Americans saying Middle Easterners’ effect on the country has been mostly positive, while 39 percent said their impact has been mostly negative.
The survey also found that 59 percent of Americans said immigrants, overall, were not learning English in a reasonable amount of time.
The survey found that people’s attitudes toward immigration depend on their political affiliation — with Democrats more favorable than Republicans — and also on whether a person knows an immigrant personally, said Mark Lopez, director of Hispanic research at Pew and a coauthor of the report.
“If you take a look at those who know someone who is an immigrant, fewer will say that crime and the economy are worse for it,” Lopez informed the Los Angeles Times.