Where immigrants come from | CNN

CNN
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The US is home to more immigrants than any other country – more than 45 million people, according to the latest Census estimates.

That’s 13.6% of the US population, about the same as it was a century ago. But over the years, we’ve seen significant shifts in where immigrants to the US come from, and where they end up once they get here.

Here’s a look at these key immigration trends and how they’ve changed over time.

Mexicans represent the largest group of immigrants living in the United States. That’s been true since 1980, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. And the Mexico-US route is the largest migration corridor in the world.

But the total number of Mexican immigrants living in the US has been on the decline for more than a decade.

An estimated 10.7 million Mexican immigrants lived in the US in 2021, roughly 1 million fewer than the number a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, immigration from other countries, including India and China, has been on the rise, according to MPI.

As one expert told CNN last year, the range of reasons why people move to the US from different parts of the world is as varied as the list of countries these immigrants once called home. Some are seeking economic opportunities. Others are fleeing violence, persecution or climate disasters. And others are hoping to reunite with family members who are already here.

According to an analysis of Census data from MPI, the top 10 countries of origin for immigrants in the United States are all in Latin America and Asia.

These statistics include both immigrants who came to the United States legally and those who are living in the country without authorization.

Looking only at the population of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, the list of the top countries of origin shifts slightly. A Department of Homeland Security report in 2021 estimated that the top six countries of origin for undocumented immigrants were Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Honduras and China.

But most immigrants who live in the United States aren’t undocumented.

The Pew Research Center’s latest estimates indicate about 10.5 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. That means the vast majority of foreign-born…