The foreign-born share of the United States population hit an all-time high in January, according to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). At 15.8 percent of the total U.S. population, the ratio of foreign-born individuals living in the country to native-born now exceeds prior highs reached during the mass immigration influxes experienced in 1890 and 1910.
Citing data from the federal government’s January 2025 Current Population Survey (CPS), the CIS report reveals that at the start of the year, there were 53.3 million foreign-born individuals residing in the U.S. The immigration policy group notes that this represents an 8.3 million increase from the total foreign-born population share when former President Joe Biden took office in 2021. Additionally, CIS estimates that of the 8.3 million increase, at least 5.4 million—or two-thirds—are illegal immigrants. It should be noted that CIS states these numbers do not include potentially millions of foreign-born individuals missed by the federal government survey.
“At 15.8 percent of the total U.S. population, the foreign-born share is higher now than at the prior peaks reached in 1890 and 1910. No U.S. government survey or census has ever shown such a large foreign-born population,” the CIS report states, continuing: “The current numbers have rendered Census Bureau projections obsolete. Just two years ago, the Bureau projected the foreign-born share would not reach 15.8 percent until 2042.”
Noting that the government figures represent net growth, the CIS report contends: “Our best estimate is that 11.5 to 12.5 million legal and illegal immigrants settled in the country in the last four years,” adding, “…our preliminary estimate is that there are 15.4 million illegal immigrants in the January 2025 CPS, an increase of more than 50 percent (5.4 million) over the last four years in the survey.”
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