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Georgia


Summary Demographic State Data (and Source)
Population (2008 CB est.): 9,865,744
Population (2000 Census): 8,186,453
Foreign-Born Population (2008 FAIR est.): 929,285
Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census): 577,273
Share Foreign-Born (2008 FAIR est.): 9.6%
Share Foreign-Born (2000): 7.1%
Immigrant Stock (2000 CB est.): 541,000
Share Immigrant Stock (2000 est.): 6.6%
Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2006 CB est.): 271,234
Share Naturalized (2006): 31.6%
Legal Immigrant Admission(DHS 1997-2006): 178,053
Refugee Admission(DHS1997-2006): 23,573
Illegal Alien Population (2008 FAIR est.): 495,000
Costs of Illegal Aliens (2008 FAIR) $1,614,000,000
Projected 2050 Population (2006 FAIR): 16,811,180

Immigration-driven population growth is taking its toll on Georgia, the sixth fastest growing state in the U.S. In the last ten years, over 1.7 million new residents settled in Georgia. Almost one-quarter of these new residents were immigrants. [new paragraph] In north Fulton County, sewer and water systems have become overburdened due to rapid development. Richmond Hill, which grew by more than 137 percent, had to spend $6 million to build new fire and police stations, add traffic signals, and improve its wastewater treatment system. Bryan County, which grew by 58 percent, was forced to pave miles of roads and add recreation areas and emergency services. Population growth doesn't increase the tax base as much as it increases the need for services in that area, noted Barrow County Commission Chairman Eddie Elder, whose county has experienced a 55 percent growth rate in the alst decade.

Georgia:Extended Immigration Data


STATE POPULATION

Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 Georgia’s population had increased to 9,865,744 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 180,635 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 2.2 percent per year.

Georgia Population 1900-2008
NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION (NIM)

Based on the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2008 the state’s population increased by about 243,790 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 29,370 residents, i.e., nearly one-sixth (16.3%) of the total increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).


Georgia Sources of Population Change 2000-08

The 2000 Census found 8,186,453 persons resident in Georgia. This was an increase of 1,708,237 persons (26.4%) above the 1990 Census. The amount of increase was the fourth highest in the country. The rate of increase was the sixth fastest increasing population in the country.

The 2000 population is about 300,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its most recent state population projections in 1996. The significance of this is that the Census Bureau has concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.

Georgia's population increased from 1980 to 1990 by slightly more than one-sixth (from 5,462,982 to 6,478,216).

Georgia had the 6th greatest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000..

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Georgia was 841,282 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Georgia was about 929,285 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 9.6 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 48,220 people, which is more than one-fourth (26.7%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 61 percent compared to a 15.1 percent increase in the native-born population.

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 19.2 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 26,645 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 74,865 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than two-fifths (41.4%) of the state’s overall population increase.

Georgia Foreign-Born Population 1970-2008

A comparison of the increase in the immigrant population from 1990 with the change in the overall population during the same period shows that immigrant settlement directly accounted for 23.7 percent of the state's overall population increase over that decade. The share of the population increase due to immigration would be still higher if the children of the immigrants born here after their arrival were included with their immigrant parents in the calculation. The amount of the overall impact of immigration (immigrants plus their children) on population change is more likely to account for about 29 percent of the state's population increase, based on the increase in the share of those in Georgia who speak a language other than English at home.

Georgia ranked 4nd nationally in the rate of foreign-born change between 1960-2000.

An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in Georgia increased by more than 80 percent, from 4.8 percent to 8.8 percent. Less than half (49.8%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

The segment of the foreign-born population that had become U.S. citizens as of 2000 was 29.3 percent -- much lower than the 35 percent national average.

Speakers of Foreign Languages
(at home in Georgia in the 2000 Census)
Spanish 426,115
French 42,630
German 32,760
Vietnamese 27,670
Korean 25,815
Chinese 19,390
Gujarathi 11,135
Kru, Ibo, Yoruba 9,770
Arabic 8,555
Japanese 8,255

(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 859,590 residents, an increase of 48.9% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 173,126 to 577,273 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 233.4 percent. 

The ten countries below constituted nearly three fifths (59.8%) of the foreign-born population in Georgia in 2006. Mexico accounted for approximately one third alone (32.2%).

Foreign-Born Change Since 1990: Top Ten Countries 1990-2006

Rank

Country

1990

 

Country

2000

 

Country

2006

1    Mexico   20,309    Mexico   190,621    Mexico   276,494
2    Germany   13,268    India   27,834    India   47,464
3    Korea   11,678    Vietnam   25,672    Korea   37,325
4    United Kingdom   10,000    Korea   23,188    Vietnam   32,791
5    India   7,511    Germany   19,039    Jamaica   27,985
6    Canada   7,251    China   17,546    China   25,565
7    Vietnam   6,284    U.K. 16,457    El Salvador   19,170
8    Japan   5,372    Jamaica   15,057    Germany   18,967
9    Cuba   4,406    Canada   14,026    Canada   15,757
10    Philippines   4,160    Guatemala   13,076    Brazil   12,108
   All Other   82,887    All Others   214,757    All Others   345,964
   Total   173,126    Total   577,273    Total 859,590

Between the 2000 Census and the Census Bureau estimate for 2006, the foreign-born population in Georgia increased by more than 282,000 persons (48.9%). Latin America (including Mexico) accounted for an increase of more than 179,500 immigrants (59.6%). Mexico alone accounted for an increase of nearly 86,000 additional immigrants (up 60.4%). Immigrants from Asia grew by 41% (about 60,500 people). Immigrants from Africa rose by 72.1% (more than 29,100). The immigrant population from Europe and Canada increased by more than 13,600 persons (15.3%).

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK

The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 541,000 people in Georgia in 2000 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate, and the estimated population of 8,186,453, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was about 6.6 percent in 2000.

As the graph below shows, the amount and share of population change due to the increase in the foreign stock is rising rapidly. Over the past 34 years the new immigrants and children born to them have added about 859,100 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 20.3 percent of the state’s population increase.

Georgia Foreign Stock

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 271,234 residents or 31.6 percent, of the foreign-born population in Georgia were citizens, compared to 169,232 residents, or 29.3 percent, in 2000.

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000, and 42.0 percent in 2006. 

REFUGEE SETTLEMENT

Georgia has received 23,573 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY1997-2006) including 1,540 persons in FY2006.


Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $7,375,880 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in California based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 29,389 refugees (an average of $251 per refugee). This allocation does not include a larger share (55%) of funding programs for communities heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrants, communities with refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, communities impacted by federal welfare reform changes, educational support to schools with significant refugee students, and discretionary grants. ORR grants for FY’05 and FY’06 respectively were $7,336,655 and $6,947,431

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS

Data are not available nationally on immigrant students (either legally or illegally resident in the United States) who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools (K-12). However, many of these students are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learning (LEP/ELL) instruction programs. Many may be U.S.-born, but the majority of these students may be assumed to be either immigrants or the children of immigrants, with the exception being areas with native Americans who speak a native language other than English.

In Georgia, overall enrollment in 2004 (1,553,437) was 15.3 percent above enrollment in 1995. By contrast, LEP enrollment was 359.6 percent higher a decade earlier.

Data on enrollment in LEP/ELL programs are collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data on LEP/ELL enrollment are understated because data from private schools that do not apply for Title VII assistance are sketchy.

FOREIGN STUDENTS

The 2006/07 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Georgia as 12,183. One school in Georgia is listed as having a major concentration of these students:

Georgia Institute of Technology had enrollment of 3,274 foreign students, 18.3% of total enrollment.

Georgia State University had enrollment of 1,414 foreign students, 5.5% of total enrollment

University of Georgia  had enrollment of 1,267 foreign students, 3.7% of total enrollment

Emory University had enrollment of 1,219 foreign students, 9.9% of total enrollment

Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Georgia from 1960-2007.

SOCIAL AND OTHER ISSUES

FAIR estimates that the net cost of Georgia's foreign-born population was over $907 million in 1995 due to the public services they consume and their displacement of American workers throughout the state.

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 495,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated in February 2003 that the resident illegal population in Georgia was 228,000 as of January 2000. This number was nearly  200,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.The most recent estimate by DHS put the illegal poulation in the state at 490,000 in 2006.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 350,000 to 450,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

Incarceration Costs - Georgia has received partial compensation under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that was established in 1994 to compensate the states and local jurisdictions for incarceration of "undocumented," aliens who are serving time for a felony conviction or at least two misdemeanors.

The recent SCAAP amounts that Georgia has received were:

FY’99  —  $4,037,051
FY’00  —  $3,429,152
FY’01  —  $3,400,246
FY’02  —  $4,199,593
FY’03  —  $1,833,595
FY’04  —  $2,191,187

The amount of SCAAP awards has been declining in both total distributions and even more as a share of the state’s expenses. In FY’99 the state received 38.6% of its costs. SCAAP data indicate that Georgia's illegal alien inmate population had increased by 103 percent from the 664 inmate years in FY'99 to 1,350 inmate years in FY'02, while compensation increased by four percent, but then dropped significantly.

In mid-May 1998, during the harvest of the $90 million Vidalia onion crop in southeastern Georgia, the INS launched operation "Southern Denial" and apprehended 21 illegal alien workers in Glennville. The INS action led to a political firestorm reportedly involving House Speaker Gingrich and negotiations between the INS and the Georgia onion growers that led to a halt to INS enforcement actions. The growers for their part were asked to agree to avoid hiring illegal alien workers next year and participation in a document verification program. Sen. Coverdell (R- GA) complained that the INS used "indiscriminate and inappropriate ...tactics against... honest farmers..." The INS action may have been triggered by a dispute between several of the 215 growers and the Department of Labor in 1997 over their interest in hiring temporary foreign agricultural workers in the H-2A program. The growers withdrew their applications when the DOL refused to approve them unless the growers agreed to pay the prevailing wage of 80 cents per 50-pound bag harvested. The growers insisted that the prevailing wage was 75 cents for a 60-pound bag. Another issue of contention was that the growers would have to provide free housing for the 1,200 H-2A temporary workers they were requesting as well as for their American workers. (Washington Post, July 5, 1998, Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1998)

Medical Costs - Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are in the country legally or whether they are able to pay for the treatment. Congress in 2003 enacted an appropriation of $250 million per year (for 4 years) to help offset some of the costs due to use of this service by illegal aliens. This amount has been allocated among the states based upon estimates of the illegal alien population and data on the apprehension of illegal aliens in each state. This amount compensates only a fraction of the medical outlays. For Georgia, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $5,437,098.

Educational Costs - In our study Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red, we estimated based on 2004 data that educational expenditures for illegal immigration were costing the Georgia taxpayer $952 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($396.7 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($555.3 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs - In 2006 we estimated that Georgia taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $1.199 billion because of illegal aliens residing in the state. That estimate was based on only expenditures for education, emergency medical care and incarceration. We projected that those costs will rise unless we gain control over our borders and our worksites. If a new amnesty and increases in immigrants and guest workers were enacted, as proposed by business and ethnic advocacy groups, we project that the cost to the state’s taxpayers for those same programs would rise to $2.058 bllion per year in 2010 and to $3.595 bilion per year in 2020.

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

You can view a listing of local immigration reform organizations here.

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD

You can view the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.

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Georgia:Immigrant Admissions

Georgia Immigrant Admissions
by Fiscal Year
1997 12,623
1998 10,445
1999 9,404
2000 14,778
2001 19,431
2002 20,555
2003 10,794
20004 16,286
2005 31,535
2006 32,202
Total 178,053

Recent immigrant admissions have jumped 1185% since admissions just after adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 1,180 immigrants. During the 2002-'06 period, admissions averaged about 22,275 immigrants.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative INS immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 1,371 in FY'66 to 32,202 in FY'06. The cumulative total of admissions to Georgia between fiscal years 1965 and 2006 was about 354,345 immigrants.


 


The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. The data for FY'95, FY'97-'99 and FY'03 were artificially low because the government did not issue green cards to all the eligible applicants for adjustment of status who were already in the United States. In those four years, new immigration could have registered as much as 30 percent higher, if the government had kept up with its workload.

Beginning with FY'01, the INS began to increase admissions as a result of reducing the size of the backlog of Section 245(i) adjustment of status cases, i.e., amnesty, for illegal aliens.

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

The table below furnishes INS data on the immigrants who have been admitted for residence in Georgia 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).

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 nearly three-quarters (73%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Georgia during this ten-year period. The principal source countries for these immigrants (Mexico, Vietnam, India, China and the former Soviet Union) accounted for nearly two-fifths (38.3%) of all immigrant admissions since 1996. Immigrants from Mexico alone accounted for one-eighth (12.8%) of the total of new "green card" recipients.  

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Georgia:Poll Data

A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 500 Likely Voters in Georgia on November 7th-8th found:

  • 81% oppose granting drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.
  • 73% 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.

A Carl Vinson Institute of Government Poll taken June 16 and 27, 2006 (803 adults) found that:

  • 83% believe that immigration levels should be decreased or kept at the current level.
  • 65% either completely or generally agree that immigrants send most of the money they make back to their home country.
  • 64% think that most the immigrants coming to Georgia over the past few years are illegal immigrants.
  • 64% either completely or generally agree that immigrants receive too much government assistance.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of 501 likely voters reported on January 9, 2006 found that:

  • 78% of Georgian likely voters say it is “important” that the state legislature restrict state services to illegal aliens.
  • 80% would support a proposal to punish the employers of illegal immigrants
  • 70% would support a federal proposal to create a guestworker program that allowed illegal immigrants to become legal workers.

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Georgia:Immigration Impact


State Population (2006 CB estimate) 9,363,941
State Population in 2000

8,230,550

Average Annual Change 2000-2006 2.3%
Foreign Born Population 2006 1/ 777,085
Foreign Born Share 2006 8.3%
Foreign Born Population 2000 577,273
Foreign Born Share 2000 7%
Average Annual Change 2000-2006 5.5%
Population Projection 2010

9.6 million

Population Projection 2025 11.4 million
Population Projection 2050 (FAIR) 15.2 million

All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise noted. Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Georgia.

Population Change

Georgia’s population increased by 27 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 13.8 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing Georgia’s total population to approximately 9.4 million. 

In 2006 Georgia was the fourth fastest growing state in the United States, and accounted for the fourth largest increase in numerical population size.2

Approximately 17.6 percent of the total population increase between 2000 and 2006 in Georgia was directly attributable to immigrants.

FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 443,000, which ranks seventh in the U.S. This number is 94% above the U.S. government estimate of 228,000 in 2000, and a striking 1202% above the 1990 estimate of 34,000.

According to an estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 there were an estimated 350,000 to 450,000 illegal aliens living in Georgia. That ranked seventh among illegal alien populations in the United States.3

FAIR estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of Georgia spent $952 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools.4  

FAIR’s projected annual fiscal costs to Georgia taxpayers
for emergency medical care, education and incarceration resulting if an amnesty is adopted for illegal residents.
Current 2010 2020
$1,199,000,000 $2,058,000,000 $3,595,000,000
Population Profile

In north Fulton County, sewer and water systems have become overburdened due to rapid development.5 Richmond Hill, which grew by more than 137 percent, had to spend $6 million to build new fire and police stations, add traffic signals, and improve its wastewater treatment system. Bryan County, which grew by 58 percent, was forced to pave miles of roads and add recreation areas and emergency services.6 Population growth doesn't increase the tax base as much as it increases the need for services in that area, noted Barrow County Commission Chairman Eddie Elder, whose county has experienced a 55 percent growth rate in the last decade.7

Georgia's foreign-born population increased 233 percent during the 1990s; the second largest percent increase in the country.

 

Foreign-Born Population

Georgia’s foreign-born population increased by over 34 percent between 2000 and 2006. During that period Georgia gained over 199,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to over 777,000.

 

 

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Water: Between 2000 and 2006, Georgia saw a 48.9 percent increase in its foreign-born population.8 This compares with an 11.8 percent growth in the native-born population and that included the children born to immigrants. When the U.S.-born children of immigrants are added, immigrants accounted for 36.8 percent of the state’s growth during that time.9

Not surprisingly, Georgia has surpassed North Carolina to be the 9th most populated state in the union.10 If Georgia’s growth rate continues, by 2050 Georgia is expected to have increased its population from less than 9.4 million in 2006 to over 15.5 million.11

Georgia has per-capita water demand of nearly 153 gallons each day.12  If population projections hold true, by 2050 this will have created the additional consumption of over 943 million gallons of water each day. As the state has faced dry times in recent years, Georgia has been forced to question if they will always be able to supply water to their burgeoning population. The taps may run out, when dry times inevitably strike again in the future.

Georgia’s primary drinking water source comes from Lake Lanier, a manmade lake that has dipped more than twenty feet below its full level in the last year.13In fact, Lanier lately entered uncharted territory, hitting its lowest, documented springtime level.14

Recognizing the limits to its own water resources, Georgia has been forced to begin looking elsewhere for water. Georgia recently lost a legal battle against Alabama and Florida, who also rely on Lake Lanier water. The case denied Georgia the right to take an additional allocation of water to divert to Atlanta, where population growth and urban sprawl are most notably rampant.15  In the wake of this case, Georgia opened a new court battle with neighbor Tennessee, seeking to pump water from the Tennessee River which runs between the two states borders. Beginning to face the reality of a limit on its own natural resources, Georgia is determined to try to find water downstream.16

Additionally, Georgia’s water shortages pose serious economic threats. Such shortages create sudden depressions in tourism, home prices, and job markets such as gardening and lawn care.17

Although Georgia recently declared that citizens should attempt to restrict metropolitan water usage by 10 percent, and limit the number of times individual’s can water their lawns in certain areas, these precautions may not be enough—especially if the states population continues to boom. 18

Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Georgia residents increased 22 percent during the 1990s, to 28 minutes in 2000.19,20  21% of Georgia's major urban roads are congested, and vehicle travel on Georgia's highways increased 50% from 1990 to 2003.

Driving on roads in need of repair costs Georgia motorists $255 million a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $44 per motorist. Congestion in the Atlanta metropolitan area costs commuters $1,065 per person in excess fuel and lost time 21 with an annual delay of 67 minutes per traveler (4th highest in then nation). 22 19 percent of commuters in Georgia have a commute that is 45 minutes or more, ranking sixth in the nation. 23

The Atlanta area is planning to spend $50 billion on transportation improvements over the next 25 years, only to see gridlock get worse. After expanding highways, transit and bike paths and so on, the Atlanta Regional Commission predicts that traffic delays will be increased. The drive from Marietta to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport takes 48 minutes today. In 2030 it will take 70 minutes but if Atlanta doesn't spend the money, it will take 84 minutes. In the next 25 years 2 million more people will be are expected to pour into the region. 24

The number of miles driven each day on metro Atlanta roads is expected to rise by about 42 million miles by 2025 -- about half the distance from the Earth to the sun.25/

Carl Patton, vice chairman for transportation of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, predicts that by 2010 Atlantans will spend more time in traffic than at home.26 Traffic on I-95 at is increasing by seven percent annually. 27/

Disappearing open space: Every day, 50 acres of Georgia's farmland and open space are lost to development.27/ Of the 74,542 acres of state parkland in Georgia, 8,212 are endangered by sprawl, commercial and residential development, and traffic, according to the National Park Trust.28 About two-thirds of the trees in the Atlanta area have been cut down by development, reports the Georgia Conservancy.29.

A study of urban sprawl between 1970 and 1990 that calculated the impact of population increase and per capita land use found that 701.7 square miles of additional land were consumed by urban sprawl in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and 63.5 percent of that sprawl was attributable to population increase. In the Chattanooga metro area, which crosses into Georgia, sprawl consumed an additional 140 square miles and population increase accounted for 36 percent of the increase. 30

Crowded Housing: Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born.31,32  Over 74,000 of the state's households are defined as crowded or severely crowded housing. 33

In Gwinnett County, complaints about neighborhood traffic and trash have led to zoning ordinances to limit the number of people living in single-family homes. Officials say the influx of immigrants has led to a rise in crowded housing and subsequent complaints from long-time residents.34

Sprawl: In 1990, metro Atlanta measured about 65 miles from north to south. It's now about 110 miles across. By 2018, its range is expected to include suburbs like Athens and Dalton.35 The Atlanta Regional Commission projects that the region will grow by 1.6 million people by 2020.36

Air Polution: More than 3.2 million Georgia residents live in areas where ozone pollution and smog have made it unsafe to breathe the air.37 Metro Atlanta is among the worst violators of the federal standards for ground-level ozone, with dangerously high ozone levels. Most of the problem is caused by motor vehicle emissions. The American Lung Association ranks metro Atlanta, Fulton, Rockdale, Douglas, DeKalb, and Fayette as having some of the worst air pollution in the country.38 

Rockdale, Paulding, Murray, Henry, Gwinnett, Fulton, Douglas, Dekalb, Coweta, Cobb, and Bibb counties all received a grade of “F” from the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2005” report. 39

Solid Waste: Georgia generates 1.3 tons of solid waste per capita. 40

School Overcrowding: Georgia’s K-12 enrollment increased by over 175,000 students between 2000 and 2006 (a 12 percent increase) 41, 42 and is projected to increase by an additional 13 percent by 2015. 43 Georgia has a student-teacher ratio of 14.7. 44

Throughout the state, schools are struggling to meet the needs of growing student populations. In many counties, students must attend classes in portable classrooms and eat lunch as early as 10:30 to ease the strain on crowded cafeterias.45 In some areas, sports leagues can't find room for all the students who want to participate.46 Principals report that they don't have the space to comply with a recent law requiring schools to cut class sizes; more than 14,900 new classrooms are needed.47

Poverty: 14 percent of immigrants in Georgia had incomes below the poverty level in 2005, an increase of 20.9 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the poverty rate climbs 16.6 percent. 48

Endnotes:
  1. FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
  2. Table A. Leading States/Equivalents by population Changes: July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006. U.S. Census Bureau.
  3. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center.
  4. Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
  5. Matt Monroe, “Atlanta's Exurbs Show No Sign of Slowing Growth,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, July 21, 2000.
  6. Anne Cordeiro, Pamela E. Walck, and Kate Wiltrout, “An Expanding Empire,” Savannah Morning News, March 23, 2001.
  7. Lee Shearer, “Population Explosion: Census Paints Picture of a Fast-Changing Northeast Georgia,” Athens Daily News, March 23, 2001.
  8. U.S. Census Bureau 2006
  9. Jack Martin. “Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate.” FAIR. 2008.
  10. Garry Boulard. “Hot Water.” State Legislatures Vol. 34, Issue 3, 21-23. March 2008 
  11. Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050.” FAIR. March 2006.
  12. U.S. Geological Survey, 2000.
  13. Garry Boulard. “Hot Water.” State Legislatures Vol. 34, Issue 3, 21-23. March 2008. 
  14. Debbie Gilbert. “Our lake in crisis: What a difference a year makes.” Gainesville Times. May 25, 2008.
  15. Joe Cook. “Georgia officials take wrong tack on water.” Journal-Constitution. April 22, 2008.
  16. Joe Cook. “Georgia officials take wrong tack on water.” Journal-Constitution. April 22, 2008
  17. Richard Sammon. “Water Shortages: Atlanta’s Cup Nearly Runneth Out.” Kiplinger Business Forecasts Vol 2007, No 1221. December 21, 2007.
  18. Richard Sammon. “Water Shortages: Atlanta’s Cup Nearly Runneth Out.” Kiplinger Business Forecasts Vol 2007, No 1221. December 21, 2007
  19. "The 2005 Urban Mobility Report", Texas Transportation Institute.
  20. “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
  21. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
  22. “Can Metro Atlanta Cope?” Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 30, 2002.
  23. Carl V. Patton, “How Atlanta Can Wean Itself from Car Addiction,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, March 30, 1998.
  24. Jingle Davis, “It's No Longer Just the Seashore Islands that Attract Development: Growth Moves Inland,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 28, 2000.
  25. Dave Williams, “Barnes' Green-Space Plan Covers Most of State,” Savannah Morning News, February 2, 2000
  26. Jane Gross, “Urban Sprawl Threatens the Solitude and Fragile Lands of Georgia's State Parks,” New York Times, August 31, 2000.
  27. Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz, “Weighing Sprawl Factors in Large U.S. Cities,” NumbersUSA, March 2001
  28. Lee Bey, “Nation's New Suburbia Growing Out of Control,” Chicago Sun-Times, November 19, 2000.
  29. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today, July 7, 2002.
  30. Randy Capps, “Hardship among Children of Immigrants: Finding from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
  31. Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
  32. Andrea Jones, “Occupancy Limits Growing as Issue,” Atlanta Journal and Constitution, July 22, 2001.
  33. Marcy Lamm, “Crystal Ball Shows No End in Sight to Metro's Expansion,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, June 15, 1998.
  34. an R. Costello, “Centennial Place: Model of Mixed-Use Urban Living,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, September 7, 1998.
  35. Georgia Airkeepers, as cited at www.cleanairsouth.org/state/ga/airkeepers/basic_campaign.html
  36. Michael Kanell, “Atlanta's Explosive Growth Comes at a Steep Price,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 30, 2002.
  37. “State of the Air 2005: Arizona”, American Lung Association.
    30. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
  38. "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
  39. "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.
  40. Projections of Education Statistics to 2015, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
  41. "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.
  42. Jennifer Brett, “Schools, Roads Feel Squeeze of Growth,” Atlanta Journal Constitution,  March 29.
  43. Janet Frankston, “Schools, Cities Adapt to Growing Pains,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 29.
  44. Shannon Womble, “No Room to Grow,” Savannah Morning News, August 24, 2000.
  45. “Georgia  State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.

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