For many years, the image—and often the reality—of immigrants in the U.S. was of men who came here alone to work and send money back to their families. These days, immigration is a family affair. Here's a collection of resources and information to put these families into context.

Immigrant Families—By the Numbers

In 2004 the U.S. foreign-born population was at an all-time high in terms of numbers—an estimated 34 million, comprising nearly 12 percent of the total U.S. population. US Census, The Foreign-Born Population 2000 (published 2003).

In its latest report, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there are 11.5 to 12 million “unauthorized migrants" in the United States, based on an analysis of the latest Census and Current Population Surveys.

The countries of origin for recent immigrants are more diverse than in earlier times. Since the 1960s Latin American and Asian immigrants have entered the country in unprecedented numbers. Immigrants are also more dispersed among cities, suburbs and towns within the U.S. In 19 states, primarily in the West and Southeast, the foreign-born population doubled during the last decade.

Immigration Policy in the United States (February 2006): This report by the Congressional Budget Office describes who is eligible for the various categories of legal admission to the U.S., and provides the most recent data available about the number of people admitted under each category. The paper also discusses immigration law enforcement and provides estimates of the number of people who are in the U.S. illegally.

Children of immigrants are a large share of the young child population.

Children of immigrants are the fastest growing component of the child population (Hernandez 1999). While immigrants are 11 percent of the total U.S. population, children of immigrants make up 22 percent of the 23.4 million children under 6 in the United States, and 20 percent of those age 6 to 17.

Among immigrants overall, a quarter to a third are undocumented—an estimated 10 million. Among young children with immigrant parents, over a quarter of their parents are undocumented. But most children in these immigrant families are born in the United States and have all the same rights and privileges of any children born in the U.S. — the parents do not.

Among the estimated one-quarter of children in immigrant families with undocumented immigrant parents, about a third are themselves undocumented. This number is estimated to be 1.8 million.

About 20 percent of this country's children—nearly 17 million—have at least one foreign-born parent. These children are more likely to be low income and to experience other hardships than children with native-born parents. Altogether, children of immigrants comprise more than 26 percent of all low-income children in the United States. They are less likely than other children to benefit from government programs designed to assist low-income families.

Immigrant Students Face Special Challenges in School

U.S. schools are experiencing rapid demographic change due to high levels of immigration, while at the same time they are implementing the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which holds schools accountable for the performance of limited English proficient (LEP) children and other groups that include many children of immigrants.

Limited English proficient (LEP) students are highly concentrated in a small share of America's public schools. Seventy percent of LEP students in kindergarten through fifth grade are enrolled in only 10 percent of the country's public elementary schools.

Latino children are a large and rapidly growing segment of the U.S. public school student population. In 2001, more than seven million Latinos were enrolled in K-12 public schools, representing 16.3% of K-12 students. At the same time, the number of English language learner (ELL) students has increased. Currently, there are an estimated 5.5 million ELL students enrolled in public schools, representing 11.6% of the total K-12 public school enrollment. This is a 126% growth rate since the 1991-92 academic year.

The share of students in Kindergarten through 12th grade with a foreign-born parent tripled from 6 percent to 19 percent in 2000. It is estimated that by 2010, children of immigrants will represent over one-quarter of the student population

By 2025, nearly one in five U.S. residents will be of Hispanic origin. A new National Research Council report looks at the current state of American education specifically as it impacts the diverse range of Hispanic students, and finds that increased, targeted investments in education and training could benefit not only Hispanics, but the country as a whole as baby boomers shift into retirement

Immigrant Parents are More Likely to Receive Lower Pay, Fewer Employee Benefits and Fewer Public Services for Their Children

Virtually all children of immigrants have a parent who works—72 percent have a parent who works full-time, year-round — but their parents are more likely than native-born workers to receive low wages and less likely to receive employer-provided benefits.

Federal policies limit immigrant families' access to income and employment support programs, like Food Stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The good news is that the health insurance programs are being extended to more and more children in immigrant families. The bad news is that children in immigrant families are still twice as likely as children in native families to be uninsured.

Even citizen children in low-income families are nearly twice as likely to lack health insurance if their parents are not citizens. They have much less access to employer-based health insurance and are only slightly more likely to receive public coverage.

For low-income immigrant families, support programs such as food stamps, Earned Income Tax Credit, child care for working families, and public health care would matter the most, rather than welfare assistance or marriage promotion, because most are two-parent working families.

Proposed Legislation to Improve Prospects for Immigrants' Children

The Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act would open the door to public insurance coverage for children of immigrants who have come to the U.S. after 1996.

Under current law, legal immigrants who arrive in the U.S. after Aug. 22, 1996, are generally
barred for five years from receiving specified federal public benefits, including health benefits under Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The ICHIA would give states the option of providing health coverage under Medicaid to pregnant women who are lawfully present in the U.S., and to children under either Medicaid or SCHIP, without imposing a five-year waiting period.

The DREAM Act would provide a pathway for undocumented high school graduates to legalize their status and enable them to attend college. Under the DREAM Act, once such a student graduates from high school, he or she would be permitted to apply for conditional status, which would authorize up to 6 years of legal residence. During the 6-year period, the student would be required to graduate from a 2-year college, complete at least 2 years towards a 4-year degree, or serve in the U.S. military for at least 2 years. Permanent residence would be granted at the end of the 6-year period if the student has met these requirements and has continued to maintain good moral character. The DREAM Act would also eliminate a federal provision that discourages states from providing in-state tuition to their undocumented immigrant student residents, thus restoring full authority to the states to determine state college and university fees.