Census Data Reveals That In Six Years, U.S. Will Have More Immigrants Than Ever Before

America has always had a reputation for being a “nation of immigrants.” However, that statement is a simplification of the truth. Throughout American history, the percentage of the population that was born overseas has ebbed and flowed, from as low as 5% of the population in 1960, to as high as 14.8% of the population in 1890.

And that’s why our immigration system has been so beneficial to our society in the long run. At times we open the doors and allow migrants to come in, bringing flesh blood and new ideas to our culture. Then we close our borders, and give these immigrants several generations to assimilate and become Americans.

But what happens if we don’t periodically stem the flow of immigrants? We may soon find out. According to a recent analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, if current trends continue, then within six years immigrants will make up 15% of the American population. That would mean that we will have a higher percentage of immigrants than at any time in our history.

The data was analyzed by Steven Camarota, the director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies. He noted that  “In a very real sense, America is headed into unchartered territory on immigration, the share who are immigrants who are foreign born will be at a level we have never seen.”

The statistics include both legal and illegal immigrants. Considering how difficult it is to measure the number of illegal immigrants, we may have already crossed that threshold.