As Foreign-Born U.S. Population Increases, Incomes Decrease

According to a new memo from the Congressional Research Service, as the foreign-born population increased in the United States from 1970 to 2013, the lower 90 percent of income earners saw their wages decline.

Here are the facts:

– Between 1970 and 2013, the estimated foreign-born population in the United States increased from 9,740,000 to 41,348,066, respectively, an increase of 31,608,066 persons, representing a percentage increase of 324.5 percent.
– The reported income of the bottom 90 percent of tax filers in the United States decreased from an average of $33,621 in 1970 to $30,980 in 2013 for an aggregate decline of $2,641 or a percent decline of 7.9 percent.
– The share of income held by the bottom 90 percent of the U.S. income distribution declined from 68.5% in 1970 to 53.0% in 2013, an absolute decline of 15.5 percentage points.

The memo comes on the heels of a Center for Immigration analysis of Census data which found that in the next eight years the foreign-born population will reach a record high 51 million and will account for 82 percent of U.S. growth.

The U.S. already admits one million immigrants, a half million immigrant students, 700,000 guest worker foreign workers, and 70,000 refugees and aslyees (persons seeking or granted political asylum).

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