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Idaho

Idaho : Extended Immigration Data

STATE POPULATION

The Census Bureau estimated that in July 2007 Idaho’s population had increased by an annual average of about 28,145 residents since 2000 (to 1,499,402 residents). Over that period, net immigration was adding about 2,400 persons each year (more immigrants arriving than leaving). During the same period there was an annual average population gain of about 13,755 residents from net domestic migration (more native-born residents arriving than leaving). Net immigrant settlement accounted directly for nearly one-tenth (8.5%) of the population increase over this period, and that does not include the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States

The 2000 Census found 1,293,953 persons resident in Idaho. This was an increase of 287,204 persons (28.5%) above the 1990 Census. The amount of increase was not among the 25 highest in the country, however the rate of increase was the fifth fastest increasing population in the country.

The 2000 population is about 53,000 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.

The 1980 Census recorded 944,127 residents in Idaho. By 1990, the population had increased by 6.6 percent to 1,006,749 residents.

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Idaho was about 84,890 residents in July 2007. This meant a foreign-born population share of 5.7 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 2,850 people, about one-tenth (10.1%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 32.5 percent compared to a 15 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. An 11.4 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 2,500 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for adding nearly 5,350 persons to the state’s population annually, i.e., nearly one-fifth (19%) of the state’s overall population increase

The 2000 Census recorded 64,080 foreign-born residents in the state. That was five percent of the state's overall population and an increase of 121.7 percent above the 1990 foreign-born population of 28,905 residents. That more than doubling of the immigrant population was much higher than the 25.8 percent increase in the native-born population. The amount of increase was not among the 25 highest in the country, but the rate of increase in the foreign-born population was the 13^th highest in the country.

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 12.2 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 19 percent of the state's population increase, based on the increase in the share of those in Idaho who speak a language other than English at home.

The 2000 Census found that 47.4 percent of Idaho's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is a higher share than the national average (43.7%).

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 Idaho increased by two-fifths, from 6.4 percent to nine percent. Less than half (41.6%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

Speakers of Foreign Languages (at home in Idaho in the 2000 Census)
Spanish	80,240
German	5,665
French	3,345
Japanese	1,650
Serbocroatian	1,505
Portuguese	1,375
Vietnamese	1,215
Tagalog	1,120
Russian	1,115
Italian	1,105
(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 82,040 residents, an increase of 28% percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 28,905 to 64,080 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 121.7 percent.

The ten countries below constituted approximately three fourths (77.8%) of the foreign-born population in Idaho in 2006. Mexico accounted for nearly three fifths alone (57.6%)

 CONNECT TO LEGAL IMMIGRATION ADMISSION DATA

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK

The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 166,000 people in Idaho in 1997 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate, the immigrant stock share of the state's population is 10.8 percent.

As the graph below shows, the amount of Idaho’s 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 91,900 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 13.6 percent of the state’s population increase.

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 27,036 residents, or 33 percent, of the foreign-born population in Idaho were citizens, compared to 21,203 residents, or 33.1 percent, in 2000.

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

Refugee Settlement

Idaho has received 5,065 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06) including 367 persons in FY’06

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $702,728 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Idaho based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 2,800 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 $1,389,131 and $2,138,613.

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 Idaho, overall enrollment in 2002 (246,000) was 3.3 percent above enrollment in 1993. By contrast, LEP enrollment (17,747 - 1.1% of all enrollment) was 306 percent higher than 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 Idaho as 1,969.  Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Idaho from 1960-2000.

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

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR’s estimate of the state’s illegal alien population as of 2007 is about 35,000 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 Idaho was 19,000 as of January 2000. This number was 3,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 25,000 to 45,000 as of 2005.

COST OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

Idaho 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 Idaho has received were:

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 Idaho's illegal alien inmate population had increased by 68 percent from the 188 inmate years in FY'99 to 316 inmate years in FY'02, while compensation was virtually unchanged, and subsequently dropped sharply.

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 Idaho, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $453,092.

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 Alabama taxpayer $65.5 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($27.3 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($38.2 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs- In 2006 we estimated that Alabama taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $84 million 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 $148 million per year in 2010 and to $264 million per year in 2020.

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD

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

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

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

Revised July 2008

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Idaho : Immigrant Admissions

Recent immigrant admissions have jumped 493% since admissions just after adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 380 immigrants. During the 2002-'06 period, admissions averaged about 2,260 immigrants.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 333 persons in FY'66 to 7,088 persons in FY'91. The cumulative total of admissions to Idaho between fiscal years 1965 and 2006 was about 52,050 persons.

The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised slightly by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. According to INS data (1991) the number of amnesty applicants from Idaho was 10,107 (2,188 pre-1982 residents and 7,919 agricultural workers).

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 Idaho 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 more than seven-eighths (87.2%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Idaho during this ten-year period. The largest source country of the new immigrants - Mexico - accounted for almost half (45% ) of the total "green card" issuance since 1996. 

Revised January 2008

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Idaho : Immigration Impact

State Population (2006 CB estimate)	1,466,465
State Population in 2000	1,299,811
Average Annual Change 2000-2006	2.1%
Foreign Born Population 20061/	78,460
Foreign Born Share 2006	5.4%
Foreign Born Population 2000	64,080
Foreign Born Share 2000	4.9%
Average Annual Change 2000-2006	3.6%
Population Projection 2010	1.5 million
Population Projection 2025	1.9 million
Population Projection 2050 (FAIR)	2.4 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 Idaho.

Population Change 

Idaho’s population increased by 42 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 12.8 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing Idaho’s total population to approximately 1.47 million. 

Approximately 8.6 percent of the total population increase between 2000 and 2006 in Idaho was directly attributed to immigrants.

FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 34,000. This number is 78% above the U.S. government estimate of 19,000 in 2000, and 209% above the 1990 estimate of 11,000.

According to an estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 there were an estimated 25,000 to 45,000 illegal aliens living in Idaho.2/

FAIR estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of Idaho spent $65.5 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools.3/

Population Profile

Idaho’s population increased by 29 percent, or 287,000 people, between 1990 and 2000.

Idaho’s immigrant population more than doubled during the 1990s, increasing by 122 percent.

Foreign-Born Population 

Idaho’s foreign-born population increased by over 22 percent between 2000 and 2006. During that period Idaho gained almost 14,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to over 78,000.

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Water: Between 2000 and 2006, the population of Idaho grew by 13.3 percent, including a 28 percent increase in the immigrant population.^4/ By contrast, the native-born population increased by12.6 percent. When the U.S. born children of these immigrants are included, immigrants account for more than one-fifth of the state’s overall growth.^5/ If growth trends continue, by 2050 Idaho’s population will have increased by more than seventy percent from its 2006 population.^6/ Idaho has daily per-capita water demand of over 188 gallons.^7/ If this water usage is maintained, by 2050 the state could be requiring up to an additional 196 million gallons of water more per day than in 2006. Idaho will not likely be able to meet that increased demand.

The Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer is an extremely significant source of groundwater for Southeastern Idaho. Additionally, this aquifer contributes heavily to the flow of the Snake River, a major Idahoan surface water source. However, beginning in the 1950’s, increased groundwater withdrawals and reductions in natural replenishment have created a trend of declining water levels that currently continues.^8/

As an effort to replenish the drying aquifer, the state-run Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program has begun a program which pays farmers a per acre rate to stop irrigating and to plant cover crops. Unfortunately, due to the high prices farmer’s can currently receive for grain, only about one-fifth of the expected acreage is enrolled in the program.^9/ Indeed many farmers, initially enrolled, have paid thousands in fees in order withdraw and instead cash in on the current commodities market.^10/ However ultimately, crop production may be the first to be held back as a burgeoning population continues to demand more water, and the aquifer levels continue to decline.

With water growing scarcer, a series of legal battles have appeared before the Idaho Supreme Court, highlighting the bickering over water rights. With the current state of the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer, in the early fall of 2007, the state threatened to shut down the pumps of many who were taking more than their share. This prospect infuriated many farmers, municipalities, and businessmen, and sparked prolific legal rivalry over water-rights seniority.^11/

In due course, something will have to be done to control the growing demand for water in Idaho, balancing the need for crop production and human consumption. Regrettably, the current conditions show an ever rising demand exacerbated by the fast rising population, and a rapidly decreasing source.

Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Idaho residents increased 16 percent during the 1990s, from 17 minutes in 1990 to 19.8 minutes in 2005.12/, 13/  26% of Idaho's major urban roads are congested and 25% of Idaho's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Vehicle travel on Idaho's highways increased 45% from 1990 to 2003. Driving on roads in need of repair costs Idaho motorists $199 million a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $216 per motorist. 9 percent of commuters in Idaho have a commute that is at least 45 minutes long. 14/

Disappearing open space: Each year, Idaho loses 18,400 acres of open space and farmland due to development.15/ Urban development is expected to double along with suburban development, which will nearly quadruple by 2050, resulting in a total loss of 4.5 million acres to urban and suburban development.16/

Crowded housing: In 2005 14,000 Idaho households were defined as crowded or severely crowded by housing authorities.17/ Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born.18/,19/

Sprawl: The city of Rexburg issued over $58 million in building permits in 2002, more than ten times the value of permits issued in an average year.20/ Such unprecedented growth is not without its costs. After such developments are completed, new streets will be needed, along with other financial responsibilities, all of which must be paid by the city. Other cities face similar challenges as a result of rapid development challenges created by sprawl. Since 1998, Pocatello has spent close to $9 million (with another $2 million to be spent by 2004) in rehabilitating and expanding its sewer system in order to meet the demands of its growing population.21/

Idaho's total energy use has increased by 57 percent since 1980 and 36 percent since 1990, making it the leading northwest state for energy consumption. This increase, according to Northwest Environment Watch, is directly attributable to rapid population growth in the state.22/

Air pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. Many in Idaho are worried about the negative effects population growth will have on public health, since more people mean more cars, which increasing gas consumption and air pollution.23/ Canyon County saw the worst levels of small particulate pollution in a decade during 2002, with up to a third of its pollution attributable to vehicle emissions.24/

Poverty: In 2005 23.3 percent of immigrants in Idaho have incomes below the poverty level, and increase of 33.3 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the rate climbs to 28.9 percent.25/

Education: Enrollment in Idaho’s K-12 public education system increased by over 16,000 students (6.8 percent) between the 2000 and 2006 school year, 26/, 27/ and is projected to increase by an additional 35,000 students (13 percent) by 2015. 28/

School overcrowding is becoming a costly issue for Idaho, one that many communities cannot afford to bear. In July 2002, Idaho Falls School District 91 voted to spend $1.3 million to alleviate junior high schools crowding.29/ The cost of the renovation is in part responsible for District 91’s current budget crisis, which has its leaders looking to cut expenses and raise supplemental levy in order to survive.30/ With many Idaho communities facing similar financial hardships, schools may have difficulty expanding to meet growing enrollments in the near future.31/

Solid Waste: Idaho generates 0.8 tons of solid waste per capita.32/

Labor Issues: The wave of immigrants flooding into Idaho leads to population increasing faster than job creation, leading to rising unemployment. As of December 2002, Kootenai County, Idaho’s third fastest growing county, faced an eight percent unemployment rate (versus a national average of six percent); the Idaho Department of Labor says that “population growth exceeding job growth” is a primary reason.33/

Endnotes:

1. FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
2. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center.
3. Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. 
4. U.S. Census Bureau 2006.
5. Jack Martin. “Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate.” FAIR. 2008.
6. Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel, “Projecting the U.S. Population to 2050,” FAIR, March 2006.
7. U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
8. Dough Geller. “Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer.” Emporia State University Hydrogeology. Spring 2006.
9. Brad Carlson, “Commodity prices pressure water program,” Idaho Business Review, June 2, 2008.
10. Associated Press, “High grain prices drain aquifer conservation plan,” Idaho News, May 23, 2008.
11. “Idaho water hearing could wrap up this week.” Idaho Statesman, December 2007.
12. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau.
13. Selected Economic Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
14. “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
15. “State Rankings by Acreage and Rate of Non-Federal Land Developed,” Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
16. Editorial Board, “Planning for Growth Must be a Top Priority,” Idaho Press-Tribune, June 30, 2001.
17. Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set- 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
18. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today,July 7, 2002.
19. Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
20. Brian Davidson, “Rexburg Construction Sets New High- Number of Building Permits Up Tenfold,” Idaho Falls Post Register, January 9, 2003.
21. John O’Connell, “City Sewer in Midst of Three-Part Overhaul,” Idaho State Journal, January 18, 2002.
22. “How Idaho Measures Up,” Measuring What Matters, The New Indicators Project, Northwest Environment Watch.
23. Sam Bass, Growth Threatens Air Quality,” Idaho Press-Tribune, June 12, 2002.
24. Nathaniel Hoffman, “Here is a Sign of a Problem, Growth,” Idaho Press-Tribune, December 5, 2002.
25. “Alabama State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
26. "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year     1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
27. "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.
28. Ibid
29. Matthew Evans, “Taylorview Expanding to Accommodate Population,” Idaho Falls Post Register, July 30, 2002.
30. Matthew Evans, “District 91 Struggles to Find the Money to Pay the Bills,” Lewistown Morning Tribune, February 19,2003.
31. Kathy Hedberg, “Idaho’s School Saga Resumes,” Lewiston Morning Tribune, November 10, 2002.
32. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
33. Kathryn Tacke, “Kootenai County Profile,” Idaho Department of Labor, January 2003.

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