California's share of foreign immigration to the United States, legal and illegal, has declined from a third to a quarter in the last two decades as immigrants increasingly locate in other states, according to a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California that adds fuel to the perennial debate about the effects of immigration, particular the illegal variety.
"We find that the decline in California's share of the nation's immigrant population is driven partly by out-migration of established immigrants to other states, but mostly by the settlement of new immigrant arrivals into different states," the study concludes. "California has experienced a net out-migration of both established immigrants and native-born persons to other states, but the flow of established immigrants is relatively small. In contrast, California's share of new immigrant arrivals to the United States has fallen sharply, from 35 percent of new arrivals in the late 1980s to only 19 percent in 2004-2007."
California still has the nation's largest immigrant population and it's continuing to expand, but the rate of that growth has slowed. The state's working age immigrant population expanded by nearly 10 percent per year in the 1980s, but growth fell to 4.4 percent in the 1990s and just 2 percent per year in this decade, PPIC concluded from an analysis of census data, which didn't differentiate between legal and illegal immigrants.
This trend is reflected by in-state migration trends as well with immigrants increasingly likely to settle outside traditional immigrant enclaves such as Los Angeles County. Although it remains home to far more immigrants than any other county, its immigrant population grew by just 1.9 percent per year between 1990 and 2007, compared to 12.6 percent growth per year in Riverside County and 10.5 percent in Kern County.
"Many immigrants - particularly Latinos - are moving to new destinations that have less established social networks but growing economic opportunities," says Sarah Bohn, and author of the study. "Immigrants are increasingly likely to base their decisions about where to live on wages and jobs."
The full PPIC report can be found here.
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