Florida

Summary Demographic State Data (and Source)
Population (2009 Census Bureau est.):	18,537,969
Population (2000 Census):	15,982,378
Foreign-Born Population (2009 CB est.):	3,484,131
Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census):	2,670,828
Share Foreign-Born (2009 CB est.):	18.8%
Share Foreign-Born (2000):	16.7%
Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2009 CB est):	1,688,819
Share Naturalized (2009 est.):	48.9%
Legal Immigrant Admission (DHS 2000-2009):	1,088,180
Refugee Admission (DHS 2000-2009):	219,487
Illegal Alien Population (2010 FAIR est.):	820,000
Costs of Illegal Aliens (2010 FAIR)	$5,462,600,000
Projected 2050 Population (2006 FAIR)	31,750,000

STATE POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2009 Florida’s population had increased to 18,537,969 residents. That was an annual average increase since 2000 of about 274,795 residents. The annual rate of increase was about 1.7 percent per year. That rate of increase, if sustained, would double the state’s population by 2043. The comparable national annual rate of increase was 1.0 percent.

The 2000 Census found 15,982,378 persons resident in Florida. This was an increase of 3,044,452 persons above the 12,937,926 persons in the 1990 Census. The annual rate of population increase during that decade was about 2.1 percent, i.e., higher than the national rate of 1.2 percent.

Between 1980 and 1990 Florida's overall population grew from 9,746,961 at an annual average rate of 3.2 percent compared to the national annual rate of change of 1.0 percent.

Foreign-Born POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Florida was 3,484,131 persons in 2009.

Net International Migration (NIM)

Using the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2009 the state’s population increased by about 851,260 from net international migration. That was an annual average increase of about 92,030 (or 33.3%) of the total increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States). The remainder was due to net domestic migration and natural change (births minus deaths).

Foreign-Born Change

The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 87,450 people, which is nearly one-third (31.8%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 30.5 percent compared to a 13.1 percent increase in the native-born population. The annual rate of increase from 2000-2009 was 5.6 percent compared to a national rate of 2.4 percent.

Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 37.6 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 82,705 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for about 170,160 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than three-fifths (61.9%) of the state’s overall population increase.

The 2000 Census recorded 2,670,828 foreign-born residents in the state. That was 16.7 percent of the state's overall population and an increase of 60.6 percent above the 1990 foreign-born population of 1,662,601 residents. That was a 60.6 percent increase over ten-years earlier. The rate of increase in the immigrant population was higher than the national average (57.4%).

The 2000 Census found that 38.6 percent of Florida's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This was a lower share than the national average (43.7%). The 2009 ACS data estimate that more than one-fourth (27.4%) of the state’s foreign-born population had arrived since 2000. That is lower than the 31.6 percent share of new arrivals nationally.

During the 1990s the state’s foreign-born population increased by 1,008,227 from 1,058,732. That was an increase of 60.6 percent compared to a 18.1 percent increase in the native-born population. The increase accounted for 33.1 percent of the state’s total population increase. On an annual basis, the foreign-born population increased by 4.9 percent compared to a national rate of 4.6 percent.

Foreign-Born Characteristics

An indicator of the change in Florida's immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population over five years of age that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000, the share of non-English speakers increased from 23.1 percent to 26.3 percent. More than two-fifths (44.8%) of those persons in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well. In the 2009 ACS, the share of other than English speakers who spoke English less than very well decreased slightly (44.1%). In 2000, most (71.3%) of those who spoke other than English at home were Spanish speakers. That share had increased (73.3%) in 2009. In 2000, Spanish-speakers were more than three-fourths (76.4%) of those who spoke English less than very well, and they were a slightly higher share (77.1%) in 2009.

Speakers of Foreign Languages (at home in Florida in the 2000 Census)
Spanish	2,476,500
French Creole	208,485
French	125,445
German	89,575
Italian	67,255
Portuguese	54,710
Tagalog	38,440
Arabic	32,420
Vietnamese	30,960
Chinese	28,855
(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

The chart above shows the foreign-born population increasing by 30.5 percent since 2000 and the share of that population from Latin America and the Caribbean increasing by 34.1 percent. That region’s share of the state’s immigrant population grew from 72.8 percent to 74.8 percent in 2009.

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2009 ACS indicate that 1,688,819 residents, or 48.5 percent, of the foreign-born population in Florida were U.S. citizens, compared to 1,207,502 residents, or 45.2 percent, in 2000.

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000, and 43.7 percent in 2009.

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS

In Florida overall enrollment in 2008 (2,666,811) was 12 percent higher than enrollment in 1999. LEP enrollment was virtually unchanged from a decade earlier after rising mid-decade. The share of LEP enrollment fell from 9.9 percent to 8.8 percent.

Population Projection

We projected Alabama’s population in 2050 likely would be between 30.42 million and 31.75 million depending on what happens with immigration policy. See “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050: Four Immigration Scenarios,” FAIR 2006.

Florida : Extended Immigration Data

Refugees

Florida received 219,487 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'00-'09).

(Note: Cuban parolees missing from FY'97 data.)

FOREIGN STUDENTS

The 2009/2010 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Florida as 29,708. Five schools are listed as having a major concentration of these students:

U. of Florida-Gainesville – 4,200.
Florida Intl. U. – 2,572
U. of Miami – 2,074
U. Central Florida-Orlando – 1,868
U. So. Florida-Tampa – 1,779

Those schools represented about two-fifths (42.1%) of the total foreign students in the state.

For information on foreign student issues see: Foreign Students in the United States

Florida : Immigrant Admissions

Florida Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year
2000	98,391
2001	104,715
2002	90,819
2003	52,969
2004	75,644
2005	122,918
2006	155,996
2007	126,277
2008	134,445
2009	127,006
Total	901,020

Recent immigrant admissions are at 492 percent of admissions just after adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 27,045 immigrants. During the most recent five years, admissions averaged about 133,128 persons.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 13,783 in FY'69 to 155,996 in FY'06. The cumulative total of admissions to Delaware between fiscal years 1965 and 2009 was 2,439,339 immigrants.

INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'96 - FY'05

The table below furnishes INS data on the immigrants who have been admitted for residence in Florida since 1996 by nationality.

The INS data are for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1996. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.

The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in Louisiana during this period.

The Department of Homeland Security website is has detailed data on immigrant admissions since FY’03 by year and by country. That resource has data for all source countries. (See http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/data/dslpr.shtm).

Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year
Country	FY'96	FY'97	FY'98	FY'99	FY'00	FY'01	FY'02	FY'03	FY'04	FY'05	Total
Bangladesh	364	300	311	192	344	-	285	182	388	532	2,848
Canada	1,866	1,396	1,075	846	2,011	1,953	1,544	796	1,344	2,181	15,012
China *	1,047	977	848	766	1,454	1,285	1,272	861	1,231	2,178	11,919
Colombia	3,510	3,702	3,452	2,531	5,739	5,302	6,000	4,983	6,086	9,821	51,126
Cuba	22,217	28,433	14,265	10,293	15,883	21,729	22,262	6,303	14,992	30,624	187,001
Dom. Rep.	2,050	1,663	1,483	1,111	1,642	1,439	1,493	1,627	1,880	2,064	16,452
Ecuador	609	718	648	763	1,088	994	1,088	878	967	1,580	9,333
El Salvador	539	498	400	405	651	725	665	411	399	862	5,555
Germany	-	688	629	589	954	822	827	437	631	970	6,547
Guatemala	522	503	480	414	724	698	859	527	644	1,222	6,593
Guyana	501	497	313	243	432	-	673	476	427	786	4,348
Haiti	7,748	7,262	6,613	7,305	11,044	17,136	10,961	5,472	6,745	7,378	87,664
Honduras	-	1,959	1,594	1,012	1,414	-	1,153	869	951	1,500	10,452
India	1,393	1,239	1,079	980	1,438	1,782	1,652	1,219	2,534	3,714	17,030
Iran	390	283	291	163	309	309	262	213	249	343	2,812
Ireland	-	61	56	60	109	-	83	54	73	110	606
Jamaica	4,996	5,246	4,795	3,454	5,350	4,560	4,321	3,842	4,074	5,270	45,908
Japan	-	142	125	119	271	243	194	183	242	290	1,809
Korea	262	211	202	211	326	296	256	148	320	638	2,870
Mexico	3,155	3,131	2,788	2,386	4,597	3,596	3,822	1,567	2,704	4,236	31,982
Nicaragua	-	3,3320	1,619	9,515	14,400	10,712	4,163	1,371	1,400	1,252	47,752
Nigeria	294	233	248	161	261	-	196	219	238	349	2,199
Pakistan	422	609	483	385	606	581	503	323	414	622	4,948
Peru	2,338	2,183	1,937	1,322	2,396	2,197	2,339	2,290	2,473	4,101	23,576
Philippines	1,796	1,495	837	786	1,922	1,933	1,897	1,668	2,239	2,766	17,339
Poland	389	312	200	166	317	351	290	294	381	550	3,250
Sov. Un. *	707	537	728	792	1,683	1,344	1,565	1,202	1,623	2,699	12,880
Trin.& Tob.	-	945	853	587	1,278	-	833	745	917	1,175	7,333
U. Kingdom	1,505	1,152	919	735	1,675	1,595	1,295	864	1,416	2,396	13,552
Vietnam	977	945	437	554	994	1,178	887	571	822	1,078	8,452
Yugo. *	498	357	286	444	1,247	1,767	3,121	724	1,130	1,764	11,338
Other	19,366	11,312	9,971	8,194	15,832	20,188	14,058	11,451	15,760	27,867	153,999
Total	79,461	82,318	59,965	57,484	98,391	104,715	90,819	52,770	75,644	122,918	824,485

A dash (-) indicates that the data for that year was not published for that country in the Immigration Statistical Yearbook. * China includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Soviet Union includes Russia and former parts of the USSR. Yugoslavia includes Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro-Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The 31 nationalities above represent more than four-fifths (81.3%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Florida during this ten-year period. Nearly one-quarter (22.3%) of all immigrants since 1996 came from Cuba. Haitians, Jamaicans, Nicaraguans and Colombians along with the Cubans accounted for more than half (50.9%) of all new "green card" recipients in Florida since 1996.

Florida : Illegal Aliens

FAIR ESTIMATE

FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2011 is about 820,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 12 million persons.

INS/DHS ESTIMATE

The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated that the resident illegal population in Florida was 337,000 as of January 2000. This number was 13,000 lower than the INS' 1996 estimate. The DHS estimate of the illegal alien population in 2010 is 760,000 individuals.

OTHER ESTIMATES

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 825,000 as of 2010.

COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 950,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

Florida Fiscal Costs In 2009
Due to Illegal Aliens ($M)		(Pct.)
K-12 educ.	$2,780.1	50.9%
LEP educ.	$559.1	10.2%
Medicaid	$530.6	9.7%
SCHIP	$129.2	2.4%
Justice	$578.9	10.6%
Welfare+	$317.1	5.8%
General	$567.6	10.4%
Total	$5,462.6
Tax Receipts	$260.7
Net Cost	$5,201.9

Source: “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers,” FAIR 2010.

Florida : Poll Data

A Suffolk University Poll of 600 registered voters conducted April 10-12, 2011 found that:

A majority of Florida voters said that they supported an immigration law similar to the one in Arizona for their own state. 51% supported such a law, 33% opposed, and 15% were undecided. 59% of whites, 62% of blacks, and 47% of Hispanics supported an Arizona-style law, while 50% of Independent voters were in support.
52% of Florida voters believed that immigration laws in the state were too lenient. Only 8% believed that the laws were too strict, while 18% believed the laws were “about right.” 21% were undecided.

Rasmussen Poll: Arizona Law SB 1070
July 2010

Suppose the new Arizona immigration law was being considered for your state. Would you favor or oppose passage of that law in your state?

A Rasmussen poll of likely Florida voters conducted July 6, 2010 found:

62% support a immigration law for Florida similar to the recent law passed in Arizona. Only 24% oppose such a law. 60% disagree with the Justice Department's suit to block Arizona SB1070. Only 28% agree with the suit.

Florida Zogby Polling Results, March 2009:

A Zogby International poll of 801 likely voters across the state found that, by an overwhelming margin, Floridians believe that illegal immigration is harming their state.

71.3% of Florida voters say illegal immigration has a negative impact on the state. Only 14.4% believe it has a positive impact on Florida.
83.5% of Florida voters believe illegal aliens have a negative impact on the state budget, versus only 7.9% who believe their impact is positive.
57.5% believe illegal immigration should be reduced through better enforcement of immigration laws. Only 36% of Florida voters favor amnesty or legalization for current illegal aliens.
68.6% of Florida voters want worksite immigration enforcement to continue. Only 21.1% support the Obama administration's decision to curtail worksite enforcement.

Read FAIR's press release and illegal immigrant cost study for Florida released with this poll.

Breakdown of Florida Zogby polling data

Poll of 801 Florida Likely Voters 3/27/09 - 3/31/09 (MOE +/- 3.5 Percentage Pts.)

As a resident of Florida, what impact, if any, do you believe illegal immigration is having on the state?

Negative		37.9%
Somewhat Negative		33.4
Somewhat Positive		11.8
Very Positive		2.6
No Impact		7.8
Not Sure		6.5

What impact, if any, do you believe the nearly 1 million illegal immigrants living in Florida have on the state budget?

Negative		44.7%
Somewhat Negative		38.8
Somewhat Positive		3.8
Very Positive		4.1
No Impact		5.5
Not Sure		3.2

Statement A:	I oppose legalization, or amnesty, for illegal immigrants. Instead, the government should enforce and strengthen existing laws to convince illegal immigrants to return home and open up jobs for unemployed American workers.
Statement B:	I support granting legalization, or amnesty, to current illegal immigrants, allowing them to keep their jobs, coupled with a commitment on the part of the government to enforce our immigration laws in the future.

Statement A		57.5%
Statement B		36.0
Neither		6.0
Not Sure		.5

An immigration reform bill supported by the president and congressional leaders promises that the government will take steps to prevent illegal immigration in the future. How much confidence do you have that those promises would be fulfilled?

Very Confident		9.1%
Somewhat Confident		29.0
Somewhat Unconfident		17.5
Not confident at all		42.8
Not Sure		1.6

Statement A:	Legalizing, or granting amnesty to, the nearly 1 million illegal immigrants now living in Florida would harm American workers, add to the state's fiscal crisis, and lead to more illegal immigration.
Statement B:	Legalizing or granting amnesty to, the nearly 1 million illegal immigrants now living in Florida would benefit all workers in the state, ease the state's fiscal crisis, and solve the problem of illegal immigration once and for all.

Statement A		62.1%
Statement B		18.1
Neither		17.5
Not Sure		2.3

Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts on illegal immigration and the job market in Florida?

Statement A:	Illegal immigrants are taking jobs that should be available to legal residents of Florida.
Statement B:	Illegal immigrants, for the most part, are taking jobs American workers don't want.
Statement C:	Illegal immigrants have little or no impact on the labor market in Florida.

Statement A		49.8%
Statement B		41.2
Statement C		5.7
Neither		3.0
Not Sure		0.3

Statement A:	It is important that Congress reauthorize E-Verify and preserve this protection for American workers.
Statement B:	Employers should be allowed to hire whomever they want, whether they are authorized to work in the U.S. or not.

Statement A		82.7%
Statement B		11.1
Neither		5.6
Not Sure		0.7

Statement A:	The government must have safeguards, like E-Verify, in place to make sure that only legal U.S. workers can fill jobs created with taxpayer money.
Statement B:	It makes no difference who fills jobs created with taxpayer money and no special effort should be made to ensure that only legal U.S. workers take those jobs.

Statement A		82.0%
Statement B		9.8
Neither		7.9
Not Sure		0.4

A number of state governments have adopted policies that require all employers to use E-Verify to ensure the workers they hire are legally allowed to work in America. Do you agree or disagree that similar policies should be adopted in Florida, or not?

Agree		84.4%
Disagree		13.0
Not Sure		2.6

Statement A:	Worksite enforcement against companies that employ illegal immigrants is effective and should be maintained, or increased, and illegal workers should be removed.
Statement B:	Worksite enforcement against companies that employ illegal immigrants is ineffective and should be decreased or eliminated.

Statement A		68.6%
Statement B		21.1
Neither		7.8
Not Sure		2.5

Statement A:	Immigration enforcement should never separate families. Illegal immigrants who have family members who are citizens or legal residents should be allowed to remain.
Statement B:	All law enforcement potentially separates families. People who violate laws, including immigration laws, are responsible for any hardship it causes their families and they should be held accountable.

Statement A		37.8%
Statement B		49.4
Neither		11.1
Not Sure		1.7

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A Rasmussen Report poll conducted of 685 likely Republican voters in Florida on December 11th found:

28% (a plurality) rank immigration as the most important issue in determining their vote in the presidential election.

A Quinnipiac University Poll conducted of 1,124 Florida voters from November 26-December 03, 2007 found:

66% favor stricter immigration laws and are opposed to amnesty.
25% would not vote for a candidate if they completely disagree with him or her on immigration, but agree on other issues

A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 508 Likely Republican Primary Voters in Florida on November 18th found:

90% oppose granting drivers' licenses to illegal aliens.
83% say that when police officers pull someone over for a traffic violation, they should routinely check to see if that person is in the country legally.
78% believe that if an illegal immigrant is discovered in this manner, they should be deported.

A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 529 LikelyDemocratic Primary Voters in Floridaon November 18th found:

73% oppose granting drivers' licenses to illegal aliens.
72% say that when police officers pull someone over for a traffic violation, they should routinely check to see if that person is in the country legally.
51% believe that if an illegal immigrant is discovered in this manner, they should be deported.

A South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Florida Times-Union poll taken in April, 2006 (of 600 adults, including of 138 non-voters) found that:

88% believe that illegal immigrants drain social services.
72% believe that illegal immigrants should be denied driver's licenses.
60% believe that illegal immigrants are driving down wages and hurting the economy.

A Research 2000 poll conducted among likely voters at the end of February 2005 with a +/- 4%age point margin of error found the following (per the March 5 South Florida Sun-Sentinel):

"Two-thirds...would oppose a plan to allow some undocumented immigrants to live and work legally [the Bush plan] in the US."
"...voters oppose - by more than a 3-to-1 margin - letting states issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants..."
"Only two in 10 Hispanics favored a law allowing undocumented immigrants to work legally in the country. Only two in 10 favored issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. And only 38% of Florida's Hispanics...said they thought immigration helped the United States."
81% said that the country should place more restrictions on immigration. (South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sept. 2001)

According to a Sun-Sentinel poll of 807 registered voters reported in the Sept. 25, 2001 issue of the newspaper, 81 percent of the respondents agreed that the country should place more restrictions on immigration. The expansion of federal police powers to "indefinitely detain legal immigrants suspected of crimes during a national emergency," was supported by 70 percent of respondents. The poll showed that minorities favor restrictions by larger percentages than whites, and that women are slightely more favorable than men.

The Polling Company conducted a poll, for Negative Population Growth, September 23-27, 1999 (500 likely Florida voters, margin of error 4.4%). The findings were:

Nearly 60 percent of Florida voters say adding another 5 million residents to Florida's population [the amount of increase now projected by 2025] is either an "extremely serious" or "serious" problem.
Over 70 percent believe Florida's overcrowding and overpopulation is a major problem.
68 percent agee that "Florida would be better-off in the long term with a smaller population to maintain a sound economy and a healthy environment."
A similar number want immigration scaled back.

Florida : Immigration Impact

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Water: Florida has a daily, per-capita water demand of approximately 153 gallons.¹ By 2050 Florida's population is projected to surge from 18 million in 2006 to 31.7 million.² This means that if Florida's current growth rates continue, by 2050, Florida will have increased its public water demands by 2.1 billion gallons per day.

In particular, coastal states such as Florida may be affected more severely by climate change. In addition to more evaporation, higher sea levels from melted glaciers may push saltwater into underground sources of freshwater.³

One hundred years ago Florida had too much water, but its large swamps have been sacrificed to urban sprawl. So much of the landscape has been paved that water can no longer readily enter the ground to replenish aquifers. As a result, large quantities of water are regularly flushed into the ocean to prevent flooding. Florida currently leads the way in water reuse, recycling about 240 billion gallons annually; however, this is not enough. Florida currently uses 2.4 trillion gallons of water each year, and that number will continue to skyrocket with the swelling population. ⁴

"We just passed a crossroads. The chief water sources are basically gone," said John Mulliken, director of water supply for the South Florida Water Management District. "We really are at a critical moment in Florida history."⁵

Florida has begun to turn to desalination, both of sea water, and deep brackish wells, Desalination occurs especially in the Tampa Bay area, where the nation's largest desalination plant produces up to 25 million gallons of water per day.⁷However, the 158 million dollar plant operating in Tampa Bay, and the high energy costs associated with desalination will drive up the cost of water considerably, as well as causing detrimental impacts on coastal marine life due to excess salt.⁸

Traffic: Florida highways endured a 78 percent increase in traffic between 1990 and 2008, more than double the national rate of 36 percent. In 2010, 47 percent of the state's major urban highways were named as "congested" by The Road Information Project (TRIP).⁹

Commuters in the Miami urban area lost an estimated 47 hours and 33 gallons of fuel due to congestion in 2007, placing it just outside the top ten nationally in both categories. Tampa-St. Petersburg residents also sat in traffic for an additional 47 hours, but wasted 30 gallons of fuel. Traffic was even worse in Orlando, where commuters wasted 53 hours and 35 gallons of fuel due to congestion. In Jacksonville, the average commuter suffered a delay of 39 hours and burned an additional 27 gallons of fuel.¹⁰

Congestion problems pervade outside the borders of the largest cities. In the Sarasota-Bradenton area, the typical commuter lost 25 hours and 15 gallons of fuel in 2007. Cape Coral commuters lost 29 hours and 17 gallons of fuel, and Pensacola came in just behind at 28 hours and 16 gallons. In total, congestion in Florida's urban areas cost $5.9 billion in wasted fuel and time.¹¹ About 15 percent of Florida commuters had a commute of 45 minutes or longer in 2008.¹²

About one seventh (14 percent) of Florida roads were considered to be in poor or mediocre condition in 2010, and 16 percent of bridges were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Motorists in the state pay an estimated $1.8 billion each year in extra maintenance and operating costs due to road conditions, or $128 per person.¹³

Disappearing open space: The amount of developed land in Florida increased by 2,743,400 acres from 1982 to 2007, growing at a pace of 114,700 acres per year over the last ten years of that period.¹⁴ Florida leads the nation in housing starts, attracting more than 900 new residents every day.¹⁵ In the Tampa Bay area, nearly 200,000 acres were developed between 1982 and 1997. As more land is paved over, water is prevented from sinking into the soil and replenishing groundwater; the area is estimated to lose between 7.3 million and 17 million gallons of water each year as a result.¹⁶ Florida leads the South in the amount of timberland lost to development, dropping from more than 20-million tree-covered acres in the 1950s to 15-million acres.¹⁷

A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 114.9 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood-Pompano metropolitan area, and 100% percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase. In Orlando, 97.2 percent of 262.9 square miles of growth was due to population increase, 90.3 percent of 156.4 square miles of growth in Jacksonville was due to population increase, 84.9 percent of 358.7 square miles in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area was due to population increase, and 100 percent of 170.2 miles in square miles of growth in the West-Palm Beach-Boca Raton area was due to population increase.¹⁸

Half the Everglades have been lost to farms and development. The east side of the Everglades is almost built out, and officials warn that similar wetlands drainage and habitat destruction to the west are a serious danger. Roads and ditches have blocked and diverted the Everglades' natural freshwater flows. Wetlands that recharged aquifers and served as nurseries for wildlife have been drained and paved. Polluted runoff from asphalt and agriculture has flowed all the way to the Keys, devastating the Florida Bay.¹⁹

Biologists believe there is not enough open land left in the state to support more than 80 panthers, Florida's official state animal.²⁰

Clearwater, Hialeah, Coral Springs, and Pembroke Pines have been designated "boomburgs" by the Fannie Mae Foundation. "Boomburgs" show double-digit population growth for each decade since 1950 and suffer from traffic, congestion, sprawl, and strained services. Unlike traditional cities, they lack a dense business core and remain suburban in character.²¹

Crowded housing: An estimated 179,311 of Florida’s housing units were classified as crowded in 2008, defined as units with more than one occupant per room. This amounted to 2.5 percent of the state’s housing units. In addition, 44,444 units were severely crowded, with at least 1.5 occupants per room.²² Nationally, crowded housing rates are driven upward by immigration, where 27 percent of children in immigrant families live in crowded housing compared to 9 percent of children with native-born parents. In Florida, the shares are 17 percent of children in immigrant families are in crowded housing compared to 10 percent of those in native-headed households.²³ Out of all metropolitan areas with 65,000 people or more, Lake City had the fourth-highest rate of severe crowding in 2008.²⁴

Solid Waste: Florida generates 1.2 tons of solid waste per capita each year.²⁵

Air Quality: Of the 30 Florida counties graded for high ozone days in the American Lung Association's 2010 assessment, 11 received an "F," 6 were graded "D," and only one county (St. Lucie) earned an "A."

Poverty: Florida's immigrants are more likely to be poor than their native-born counterparts. In 2007, 14.4 percent of foreign-born households were below the poverty line, compared to 11.6 percent of native households. An additional 12.2 percent of the foreign-born and 8.8 percent of native households were not in poverty but had incomes less than 1.5 times the poverty level.²⁶ 22.2 percent of children in immigrant families were poor in 2006, compared to 16.1 percent of native children.²⁷

Education: The enrollment of Florida's K-12 education system increased by over 293,000 (12 percent) between the 2000 and 2006 school years, and is projected to increase by an additional 348,000 (13 percent) by the year 2015.²⁸ Florida had 15.6 students per teacher at the start of the 2008-09 school year, which ranked 38th in the nation.²⁹

IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON FLORIDA SCHOOLS

Florida's schools are so overcrowded that legislators are considering paying students to go to private schools instead of public ones.³⁰ In Miami-Dade County, 41 percent of schools are at least 150 percent over capacity,³¹ and locker rooms and custodial closets have been converted into classrooms.³²

Because Florida's high immigration rate means that population growth often exceeds projections, school enrollment projections (the basis of the state's funding formula) frequently underestimate actual enrollments, "leaving school districts scrambling to provide additional personnel and programs without fresh infusions of cash.³³ "Recently, lawmakers discovered they needed an extra $500 million to pay for an enrollment that exceeded projections by tens of thousands of students.³⁴ In Miami-Dade alone, almost 15,000 foreign-born students registered in the first half of the 2000-2001 school year-after funding had already been calculated.³⁵

"Our anticipated gains in the number of foreign-born students alone will require us to build one elementary school a month just to keep up," Miami-Dade school superintendent Roger Cuevas says. Every year since 1994, between 12,000 and 20,000 new foreign-born students have enrolled in the district's schools.³⁵

Portable classrooms have doubled at Camelot Elementary during the past two years, to the point that students have no place to play outdoors other than a basketball court and a pavilion. The 35 boxy buildings have taken over softball fields and recess areas as the east Orange County School tries to educate 1,200 students on a campus built for 750. Camelot isn't alone. In the past two years, the number of portable classrooms in Orange County has grown by 30 percent. With 4,280 of the units throughout the district, about half of Orange County's classes are in portables — more than anywhere else in Central Florida. In Orange, 80,000 to 100,000 students spend at least part of their day in the structures.³⁷

More than 70 students have transferred from Ocean City Elementary because an aging and outmoded sewage treatment plant next door is emitting a foul odor. "The smell affects us physically as well as the operation of our school," said Principal Debbie Boutwell. She said the school's budget is affected because of the 77 children who received zoning waivers not to attend the school, 70 cited the smell as the reason. "We get roughly $3,800 per student, so that's a lot of money that we aren't able to use for staffing," Boutwell said. "We have to write grants to get extra programs like PE and music." She and her staff had hoped that Okaloosa County, which operates the treatment plant just outside Fort Walton Beach, would close it soon. But officials last week said that it will be another three years before that could happen.³⁸

In Sarasota, some classrooms have more than 40 students at a time.³⁹Manatee County, lunch lines are sometimes so long that students don't have time to eat unless they miss class.⁴⁰ Pasco County has opened six new schools in the last three years, has three more scheduled to open in the upcoming months, and still projects that by 2005, two high schools each will receive 700 more students than they have room for. No affordable land is available for further school construction.⁴¹

Endnotes:

U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. "Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050." FAIR. March 2006.
Brian Skoloff. "Much of US Could See a Water Shortage." Associated Press. October 26, 2007.
Patrick Huyghe. "Water, Water Everywhere, So Let's All Have a Drink." Discover Magazine. June 11, 2008.
"Crisis feared as U.S. water supplies dry up: Government projects at least 36 states will face shortages within five years," Associated Press (on MSNBC) Oct. 27, 2007.
"Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000," Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
Selected Economic Characteristics: 2005 Data Set — 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
The Road Information Project (TRIP), "Key Facts about Florida's Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding," May 2010.
Texas Transportation Institute, "Urban Mobility Report 2009," p 8-9, 22-24
Texas Transportation Institute, "Urban Mobility Report 2009."
American Community Survey, 2008 Estimates, Custom Data Table.
The Road Information Project (TRIP), "Key Facts about Florida's Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding," May 2010.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, "Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory."
Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, "Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities," NumbersUSA, March 2001
Michael Grunwald, "Growing Pains in Southwest Fla.," The Washington Post, June 25, 2002
Ibid
Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set — 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
Haya El Nasser, "U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded," USA Today, July 7, 2002.
Randy Capps, "Hardship among Children of Immigrants: Finding from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families," Urban Institute, 2001.
Brad Smith, "Clearwater Booms with Growth," Tampa Tribune, June 22, 2001.
American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates 2006-2008. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool.
Kids Count Data Center, which used 2008 American Community Survey Data.
American Community Survey, 2008 estimates. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool.
Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
Migration Information Source State Data (Migration Policy Institute)
Urban Institute, Children of Immigrants Data Tool.
"Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.
National Education Association, "Rankings and Estimates," 2010.
Mark Lane, "Voucher Fever May Not Stop at Schools," Daytona Beach News Journal, February 23, 2001.
Tamara Henry, "School Rolls Hit Record," USA Today, August 22, 2000.
"Florida Fails Children of Miami-Dade County," Education World, July 19, 2000..
Laura Zuckerman, "Outlook for Education Spending is Grim," Daytona Beach News-Journal, March 2, 2001.
Suzanne Robinson, "St. Lucie Student Number Topples Projections," Vero Beach Press Journal, September 2, 2001.
Dara Kam, "State May Charge Foreigners Tuition," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, January 25, 2001.
"Florida Fails Children of Miami-Dade County," Education World, July 19, 2000.
Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
Ibid
Courtney Cairns Pastor and Chris Davis, "Class Sizes, Small Budgets Strain Schools," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, September 2, 2001.
Ibid
Kent Fischer, "Space Crunch Spurs Talk of 'New School,' " St. Petersburg Times, March 18, 2001.

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