Immigration 2009 Charts

Charts And Graphs On Immigrants And Immigration

If you're interested in finding out more about this issue and sharing that knowledge with others, this is the place to be. We've got charts and graphs to illustrate many of the facts and concepts in our report, and they're all under a Creative Commons license, which means you are welcome to use them on your own web site or blog, or even modify them, so long as you provide appropriate attribution and a link to PublicAgenda.org.

Journalists and bloggers, that includes you. Members of the media with questions or seeking help in setting up interviews about this study and related issues can also contact Public Agenda's communications manager, Melissa Feldsher, at mfeldsher@publicagenda.org or by phone at 212-686-6610, extension 50.

Charts From "A Place To Call Home"

Click here to download the charts from this section as a zip file.

Chart 1. Most immigrants would still move here if given the opportunity to make that choice again

Chart 2. Most immigrants say they are happy in the United States and say they would do it again given the chance, though numbers have declined since 2002.

Charts 3 and 4. Immigrants say the United States is a unique country... and give the United States consistently better ratings than their birth country

Chart 5. Discrimination is a serious concern, but most do not personally experience it to a great degree

Charts 6 and 7. While U.S. immigration services are now more likely to get positive ratings…a substantial minority still finds it difficult to get information

Chart 8. Recent immigrants have closer ties to their birth country

Chart 9. Citizens and legal residents consider U.S. citizenship “necessary” and “practical”

Chart 10. Equal rights and commitment lead the reasons for pursing citizenship although immigrants are increasingly likely to favor practical benefits

Charts 11 and 12. By The Numbers: profiles of Mexican and Muslim participants in our survey

Chart 13. Mexicans are more likely to perceive discrimination but not experience it personally

Chart 14. Mexicans are more likely to cite legal rights, immigration status and jobs as major reasons to become a citizen

Chart 15. Fewer Muslims cite discrimination as an issue

Chart 16. The majority of all Americans are more likely to see immigrants as a burden on public services in recent years

Chart 17. Overall, immigrants see illegal immigrants as productive citizens in the long run

Chart 18. Younger immigrants are more likely to believe that illegal immigrants become productive citizens

Web-Only Appendix: Facts & Public Opinion

Public Agenda, as a nonprofit opinion research and public engagement organization, tracks facts and public opinion on a variety of issues, to empower citizens to understand their choices and engage with policymakers on which policies they would like to see pursued. These facts are a key feature of our issue guides (see the top of this page to choose an issue you'd like to understand more fully) and our Citizen's Survival Kit.

Here are our Fact File charts (Click here to download as a zip file); for charts relating to public opinion on this subject, see our Immigration issue guide. And to learn more about public policy options on immigration, including pros and cons for various choices, check out our Citizen's Survival Kit.

Chart 1. Immigration to the United States

Chart 2. Foreign-born population

Chart 3. Reason for admission

Chart 4. Legal immigrants: countries of origin

Chart 5. Illegal immigrants, countries of origin

Chart 6. U.S. destinations of immigrants, by state

Chart 7. Occupations of legal immigrants

Chart 8. Refugee arrivals in the U.S.

Chart 9. Refugees, worldwide

Chart 10. Level of education: native-born compared to immigrants

Chart 11. Health insurance: native-born compared to immigrants

Chart 12. Poverty: native-born compared to immigrants